


Lonesome Hearts

by Katdog161



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 49,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29210346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katdog161/pseuds/Katdog161
Summary: Craig Boone thought his life was over, until a strange girl reached out a hand and offered him a way out. (This is a romantic story between Boone and a female Courier of my own creation.) (Boone/Courier pairing)
Relationships: Craig Boone/Female Courier
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

Lonesome Hearts: A Fallout Fanfic

Craig Boone needed a way out. This dinosaur's mouth was like a prison. The sun was only just starting to go down... Just another night of bitterly wasting away the hours until he could find out who had sold his wife.

Carla, the love of his life, was dead. What else did he have to live for?

If he was being honest with himself, he was ready for his life to be over. But he needed vengeance for Carla, he had to have that first before he could rest easy. But he still had no idea how he was going to uncover the guilty one... But he knew exactly what he was going to do once he did.

Boone sighed, squinting out over the horizon, looking for any approaching threats. The sun made the Mojave glow a warm orange.

He wasn't exactly expecting visitors that night, or any other night for that matter. Ever since Carla had disappeared, the townsfolk could barely look him in the eye anymore... and then this wisp of a girl just waltzed up to him, asking him senseless questions. He heard her chipper voice at his shoulder.

"Excuse me?"

"Fuck! Don't sneak up on me like that!" he grumbled as he spun around, only to find a very, very white female face looking out at him from under a hood. The face was smiling.

"Hello," the girl said happily. She was dressed for light travel, and she didn't look the least bit dangerous, so he relaxed a little.

But her face... her delicate face was so white, she might have been dead... it was unnatural.

"What happened to your face?" he blurted out before he could stop himself. The girl frowned, pushing back her long, black hair that was escaping from under her hood.

"What happened to _your_ face?" the girl shot back.

The sniper had looked down at that point... Bone white fingers were sticking out of the girl's gloves.

"I... what?" he asked, still somewhat in shock.

Two different eyes were looking back at him, one bright gold and the other sapphire blue. The effect of such bright eyes staring out of a white face was extremely unnerving. The girl raised an eyebrow that was so pale he could barely see it.

"I mean... what are you doing up here?" he said, more firmly.

The girl shrugged, but he saw her look around once more like she expected to see someone else up there. But then her gaze landed back on his face, and he saw her smile come back. Her teeth were bleached white as well.

"Well... I was just wondering what was up here," she said lightly, tilting her head to one side as she observed him.

"A sniper's nest," Boone snapped. "Happy?"

"I take it you're a sniper?" she asked curiously. Her eyes flicked up to his 1st Recon beret and then back to his face.

"Obviously," he said shortly. The girl regarded him coolly for a moment, seemingly trying to decide if it was worth trying to continue conversing with him. Her white face glowed in the light from the setting sun.

"My name's Zero," she told him, holding out her hand. Boone stared at it. Was she not getting the hint that he didn't want to talk?

"It's called an introduction," she said brightly. "Now you tell me your name."

Boone snorted, but decided to play along. Her slim hand disappeared into his large one.

"Craig Boone," he said. "Just call me Boone."

"Nice to meet you, Boone," she said happily. Boone said nothing. Zero's bright smiled faded slightly. "Well, I'll be going then... See you around?"

"Yeah... see you..." the sniper started to say before an idea popped into his head. An idea that was so obvious he wondered why he hadn't thought of it the second she'd walked into the dinosaur's mouth.

"Wait, don't go just yet," he said swiftly.

The pale girl turned around, looking surprised.

"Yes?"

"You're not from around here..." Boone began, looking at the girl with renewed interest. He was beginning to suspect that this young woman wasn't nearly as helpless as she seemed to be. After all, nobody wandered the desert alone and lived for very long if they weren't dangerous.

"Obviously," the girl said, rolling her mismatched eyes.

"Right, so... maybe you could do me a favor," he said slowly, afraid she'd refuse. But who else could he turn to? No one in this town, that was for sure... one of them was a fucking murderer.

"Okay," she said brightly. "What do you need?"

And that had been the start of it all... she had performed what he asked of her flawlessly. Within a few days, she had figured out that it was that old Crawford bitch who had sold his wife to the Legion. She'd led the old woman out in front of the dinosaur, just like he'd asked. He'd seen her yammering away happily, pointing off into the distance with one hand... And while Ms. Crawford was looking out to where Zero was pointing, the pale girl had swiftly plopped his own 1st Recon beret on her head over her hood.

Boone had pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Moments later, Zero had appeared behind him up in the dinosaur's mouth, silently handing him back his beret. The instant he'd asked, she'd shown him undeniable proof that Ms. Crawford had sold Carla to the Legion. The girl had looked devastated, like she had personally known Carla...

Boone didn't know what to say. Then again, he never did. He'd never expected a stranger would care enough to actually help him get justice for Carla... He owed her something, so he dug into his pocket and pulled out his spare beret from his military days.

"Here," he said, avoiding looking into her odd mismatched eyes. "I want you have this."

"Oh, no..." she said, sounding stunned. A cold hand touched his, closing his fingers back around the beret. "I can't take that. It's yours."

"Well..." he said hesitantly. "Take this, anyway. I don't have a lot of money, but..."

The pale faced girl frowned at his offer of money, too. He was really starting to get confused... If she didn't want money, what did she want?

"What will you do now?" she asked, still frowning at him.

"Dunno," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe I'll wander, like you..."

The girl looked pained at that. She flexed her thin fingers, fingers that were littered with tiny scars, so pale he had to strain to see them, too... She held out one hand as if offering him something.

Maybe that was why he'd trusted her. As soon as those words had left his mouth, he had seen something in her face... something that told him she knew about pain and suffering.

"You could come with me," she said quietly, fixing him with an unwavering stare. Boone quickly looked at the floor... He got the feeling that she could see straight through him with those odd eyes.

Still, he hesitated to accept her offer.

"You don't want that, trust me," he said gruffly, his eyes flicking back up to her face after a moment.

Zero, on the other hand, had given him a look that told him she didn't give a damn.

"We'd kill more Legionaries working together," she said brightly, a sly grin on her face. "Besides, I thought snipers always worked in pairs?"

Boone snorted, impressed against his will at the strength of her argument. Really, there wasn't much he could say against it...

"You a sniper?" he asked, curious despite himself. She wasn't carrying a rifle...

Zero's grin widened.

"I guess you could say that," she said with a wink. "If you change your mind and want to come with me, just meet me outside room 201 in an hour, okay? I'll be happy to give you a demonstration."

Boone had watched her go, and to his surprise, as soon as she was gone... He was wishing he was still with her. For some reason, this odd girl made him feel better.

/

Abandoning his post, Boone went back to his lonely apartment. The place was starting to become a little gross without Carla to clean up after him. She'd taken such good care of him... An old dress of hers was hanging out of the closet. Boone quickly shut it away so he wouldn't have to see it.

Because remembering Carla hurt too much sometimes. Some days, just thinking about her made him want to end his life... But he couldn't, because he still hadn't avenged her death.

And now he had, with Zero's help. So now he could put a bullet in his brain, knowing that he'd at least taken down the person who had sold his beloved Carla.

But... did he want to anymore? He heard Zero's voice in his head...

_You could come with me._

It was like she'd come along to offer him another way out, just when he'd been thinking he couldn't go on.

Boone stomped into the bathroom, still at war with himself. He stared into the broken, blood stained mirror at his tormented face. Though he was only twenty-six, he had to admit he looked older than that... His past had aged him beyond twenty-six so that he seemed closer to maybe thirty-five. His chiseled features were still the same, but his green eyes... they might have belonged to a corpse.

That seemed appropriate, since he was obviously dead inside.

Craig Boone didn't believe that any power on earth could bring him back to life, so that had to mean... Zero was here to lead him to his eventual doom. Whether that was his death or perhaps something worse he wasn't sure, but now he got it. He had to go with her and find out.

Besides, traveling with her... he could leave a trail of Legionnaire corpses behind him.

And she did make him feel better... at least he'd be more at ease until he met his maker. Hopefully Zero wouldn't be too disappointed if and when he ended up dead at her feet.

Boone swept from the bathroom and began packing his things.

/

Zero stepped out of her apartment. Her face brightened when she saw him waiting for her.

"So... Zero," he said cautiously. Boone had been waiting outside her room for her to get ready. He'd been so absorbed in his own misery that he hadn't noticed that a very pale girl had moved into town, and right above his head at that. "Where are we going?"

The girl had suited up for travel. She was wearing form fitting dark brown leather armor, leather boots, hand wraps, and a thick hood that obscured most of her face. She had a small pack on her back. A pistol was strapped to her thigh, and she had a machete at her hip.

She was beaming at him from under her hood.

"We're going to check on Camp Guardian, and then I need to visit the Followers."

Boone was surprised.

"The NCR camp that's watching the Legion?" he said, shifting his rifle on his shoulder. He was starting to wonder if he should have packed more.

Zero nodded.

"That's the one," she said easily.

"Why there?" Boone said suspiciously. It occurred to him that although he knew Zero was friendly, pale, and most probably quite deadly... He knew almost nothing else about her. Then again, she didn't know him either, and she was still open to trusting him.

"Well..." she said slowly, turning her face away from him. Boone couldn't see her eyes, they were hidden under her hood. "I hate the Legion as much as anybody, and I..."

"You what?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

"I'm looking for something," she said quietly, her pale fingers twitching. "It might be there."

"In the middle of nowhere?" Boone said incredulously.

"Yes," she said, peering up at him from under her hood. "I only took this job as a courier so I could look for it, you know? But I, um... don't really want to go back to being a courier right now. So I just want to spend my time stopping those slavers and trying to find what I'm looking for."

Boone's curiosity was peaked. He was starting to wonder what he'd gotten himself into. But as long as he got to gun down Legion soldiers, he supposed he shouldn't complain. And whatever she was looking for was none of his business anyway.

"Okay, I'm in," he said, readjusting his pack into a more comfortable position on his back.

He had no regrets. Because honestly... anything had to be better than just sitting around and waiting to die. Now he had a chance to punish the Legion more soundly for all the pain they'd put him through. And he could pay back Zero for her help in exposing that Crawford bitch.

Zero beamed at him. Boone flinched, her skin was so deathly white it was more unnerving than her eyes... he felt like he was talking to a corpse, it was even stranger than talking to a ghoul. Her smile faded.

Sorry... Boone thought, embarrassed, as she turned away from him. I really don't think you're that odd. I'll get used to you.

"Let's go, huh?"

"Wait," Boone said suddenly.

"Yes?" she said without turning around.

"Zero's not your real name, is it?" he said in a rush. He wasn't sure why it was important, but if they were going to be working together, he wanted at least one piece of truth from her. The ex-soldier saw the girl's muscles tense up.

"No," she said shortly.

"I'd like to know who I'm working with," he said, a little more harshly than he'd meant to. Zero sighed, flicking her dark, purplish braid over her shoulder. She turned slightly, so that her one gold eye pierced him from under her hood.

"Ask me something else," she said quietly.

Boone frowned, racking his brains...

"How old are you?" he asked. It was pretty lame, but it was all he could think to ask.

"Twenty-one," she said promptly. So other information about her wasn't off limits... just her name.

He wanted to ask why she was so white, but after he'd just flinched at the sight of her, that might be pushing his luck.

"You said you're a courier?" he asked, digging through his memory banks for one particular piece of information he'd heard in passing... something about a phantom.

"Was," she corrected him. "Not anymore."

"Why not?"

"Turns out there was unfriendly competition, and I ended up shot in the head," she said easily, pulling back her hood to show him a thick scar on her forehead. "Decided to retire after that."

Boone cringed, but didn't comment on the scar. A shot to the head should have killed her...

"Sorry," he said swiftly. "So..."

"So, are we going or what?" Zero said, cutting off his next question. "Come on, there should be time for all kinds of awkward questions on the road, right?"

Boone almost laughed before falling in line beside her as they headed north.

/

A few days later, Boone was surprised to find that traveling with this weird little girl made him... happy. He was the happiest he'd been since Carla died. Not that that was saying much.

The first thing he learned about Zero was that she was modest. Whenever she had to pee, she made him wait as far away as she possibly could. She, in turn, gave him an excess amount of privacy whenever he needed it.

The second thing he learned about her was that, although she was indeed friendly when she wanted to be, in reality she was quite shy. This lead to quite a few hours walking the roads in silence. But that didn't bother him, he was glad she understood that conversation wasn't always necessary.

She kept them to a strict schedule, but Boone didn't mind. He was used to that from the military. Every morning she would clean her teeth, wash her face, and brush and re-braid her hair. If they were closer to a water source or civilization, they would find a place to bathe. When they were clean, they would eat something and set out together.

Almost every day, Zero would refuse to travel during the hottest part of the day, and instead she would seek shelter somewhere shady. Boone didn't mind that either, it wasn't like they were on a time limit, and she could move pretty damn fast when she wanted to.

"Geckos," Boone said, nodding down the road.

"I've got this," Zero said brightly. She pulled out her pistol, aiming it at the critters that were charging towards them...

She fired three shots in rapid succession.

Three geckos fell dead on the ground.

"Nice," Boone commented appreciatively. She was a crack shot with a pistol, almost as good as he was with his rifle.

"Thanks," she said happily, holstering her weapon. Boone felt his mouth twitching as he tried to remember how to smile without it looking forced.

She definitely wasn't like other combatant women. Ladies in the NCR had been very rough and tumble, not usually the warm and gentle type. But Zero was warm and gentle. Whenever he would have one of his anti-social episodes, she was patient and didn't try to force conversation with him. She even managed to do it without making him feel like she was just humoring him.

It was like she really understood what he was going through... but how could she? He hadn't told her even a fraction of what he'd done.

"So you work with the NCR?" he asked as they continued on their way.

"Kind of... Well, James Hsu is my friend," Zero said, twisting her pale fingers together. Boone nearly stopped dead.

"The Colonel?" he said, stunned. "At Camp McCarran?"

"Mhm," Zero said distractedly.

"You're friends with him? You?" Boone said incredulously. The ex-soldier himself had only met the Colonel once, but he had immediately respected the man. Most in the NCR believed that James Hsu would be a General by now if he were more ambitious.

"Yeah?" Zero said, quirking a white eyebrow at him. "Does it matter?"

"Just... surprising, is all," Boone said slowly. "Are you doing this at his personal request?"

"Sort of," the girl confessed. "I knew he was worried about Camp Guardian so I just kind of thought I'd check on it."

"Oh," Boone said. He still wasn't quite sure he believed her about being friends with James Hsu, the man was so busy, but if she really was... how the heck had that happened? Either she was related to him, or she'd impressed him somehow, enough that he would take notice of her...

She could have been lying, but somehow he didn't think she was. That meant she must have some skill that the Colonel could make use of.

What are you hiding, huh? Boone thought. I think you're way more deadly than you're letting on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a romantic story about Craig Boone and the (female) Courier, both from the Fallout New Vegas game. I have attempted to give the Courier much more of a backstory, seeing as how that poor character basically had none at all in the game. 
> 
> Craig Boone made me want to slit my wrists, he was so depressing. I kept him as a companion for pretty much my entire game because I felt so goddamn bad for him. So I have attempted to give him a slightly happier ending without changing his character too much. I have kept most of the story elements the same, but I have taken some liberties with the characters, plot, and settings.
> 
> I'm not much of a writer, but hopefully this didn't turn out too bad!
> 
> I originally posted this to Fanfiction a couple years ago. I'm hoping to finish it soon.


	2. Chapter 2

They reached Camp Guardian the next day.

"Where are they?" Zero muttered when the finally reached the mountain's peak. There was nobody in sight... the entire place seemed deserted. The radio equipment, supplies, and beds looked like they hadn't been touched in days.

Boone had a sinking feeling in his chest. Even though he'd left the military, he still believed in the NCR's cause, securing the land so the people could live free of fear. Maybe if the NCR had been more successful in fulfilling it, Carla would still be safe...

"There," she whispered, nodding towards the cliff side. Boone peered over the edge... and there they were. Legionnaires, creeping up the hill. Boone nodded back to show that he understood. He readied his rifle.

There were only four of them. Zero whipped out her pistol, aiming it down the hill.

Bang!

Boone's first shot hit right on target, the bullet going right through the man's head. The dead Legionnaire tumbled down the hill into his companions.

Bang Bang!

Another two shots from Zero's pistol sent two more falling from the cliff side, breaking limbs as they landed on the rocks. Boone fired a shot at the fourth, but the man moved at the last second, and his shot hit the man in the stomach instead of the heart.

"I don't think so," Zero spat, and she leaped down the cliff as sure footed as a mountain goat, flying from rock to rock. Boone, who was strong but not quite as spry, scrambled down after her. Moments later, he heard her screaming.

"Where are they, you monster?!" she screamed. "Tell me!"

Boone finally reached the ledge where Zero was perched, her machete in her hand, advancing on the wounded Legionnaire. The man was clutching his stomach, blood seeping from between his fingers.

"Crazy bitch," he growled, glaring at her. "Caesar will crucify you and leave your body for the crows! The Legion will..."

Zero raised her machete, and with a single, fierce strike, she removed the man's head. His head rolled down the hill, bouncing off rocks until it hit the ground. Blood from his severed neck dribbled down the gray stones. The young woman took a deep breath and wiped her blade on the man's tunic.

"What was that?" Boone asked, reloading his rifle. Zero turned toward him, smiling mechanically.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said cheerfully. "I lost my temper. You're not mad, are you?"

"Not exactly, but..." he began, but Zero was staring blankly over his shoulder.

"Hold that thought," she said in a strangled voice.

And then she took off at a sprint, leaving Boone in the dust.

"Hey!" he protested, taking off after her. "Where are you going?"

He turned and saw what she was running for... three bodies wearing NCR armor. Those must be the missing soldiers that should have been manning this camp, Boone thought to himself.

She ran right up the bodies, falling to her knees next to the nearest one. Carefully, she flipped the body over. Boone saw her hands shaking. She brushed the soldier's hair back and Boone heard her let out a strangled sigh. She folded the dead man's hands over his chest. She did the same to soldier number two.

"They're dead," Boone said gruffly. "Come on."

"Not yet," she whispered. She trailed her fingers down soldier number two's face before moving onto soldier number three.

Boone sighed. No one else seemed to be around... might as well let her do whatever she was going to do. He frowned as he saw her wipe at her face, like she was brushing away tears... Something stirred inside the ex-soldier as he watched her caring for the dead men.

If you had found me dead in the desert... would you touch me so gently? Would you lay me to rest?

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "You didn't deserve this..."

"What are you talking about?" Boone said sharply. "Do you know them?"

She let out a breath and folded the third soldier's arms over his chest. She stood up, twisting her fingers together anxiously.

"No... no, I don't know them, sorry," she said. Her gold eye flashed under her hood.

"Then what the hell was that about?" Boone demanded. Zero just shrugged.

"Seemed like the right thing to do," she said softly, hanging her head. "Well... now I have something to tell the Colonel," she added sadly. She started back down the mountain, Boone falling in line beside her.

After a moment, the pieces clunked into place in the soldier's head.

"You're not really looking for a thing, are you?" he said bluntly. "You're looking for a person."

Boone caught a glimpse of the girl's blue eye as she looked sideways at him.

"I guess there's no point hiding it, huh?" she said softly. "Yes. I'm looking for someone. A soldier."

Boone didn't respond. Some other feeling was welling up inside him now. The feeling was so unexpected that it took the soldier a moment to realize what it was that he was feeling... jealousy. He was jealous of this unknown soldier who had Zero looking for him so determinedly.

"What's his name?" Boone said abruptly. "I might know him."

Zero looked at him cautiously.

"I didn't want to ask," she whispered to the air in front of them. "Didn't want to get my hopes up... but... I know he's most likely dead."

"His name?" Boone prompted.

Still, Zero hesitated.

"William Logan," she whispered. "He goes by Will."

Boone racked his brain for anyone he might know by that name.

"No, sorry, I don't know him."

Zero sighed.

"I didn't think you would... Like I said, he's probably dead, I just... I need to know for sure," she mumbled, tugging her hood further down her white forehead. Boone understood that she needed to protect her pale skin from the sun, but he was beginning to suspect that she also used that hood as a shield to hide behind.

"Is that why you hate the Legion so much?" Boone questioned, his hands clenching themselves into fists. "You think they killed Will."

"They killed the others," she spat, her white fingers twitching. "I know they did!"

She paused, tilting her white face towards the sun. A single tear was sliding down her cheek.

"But Will... I never found Will," she whispered. "He was just... gone."

Boone was silent as Zero wiped away the single tear. The feeling of jealously was intensifying rather painfully. If he was the one the Legion had taken, would Carla had come after him? Would she have hunted for him so passionately? But that wasn't a fair comparison. Zero was a seasoned killer. Carla had been a civilian, and a pregnant civilian at that.

"How did you know him?" Boone asked stiffly.

Zero fingered her machete absentmindedly.

"I knew him," she said shortly. She must have realized she sounded a little bitter, because she smiled at him, "Maybe I'll tell you sometime."

The ex-soldier's stomach did a flip. He couldn't explain why, but he wanted to know how this mysterious soldier had so obviously captured Zero's heart.

"Hang on, I forgot something," Zero said suddenly, turning back to the bodies. She knelt down next to them once more, plunging her hand inside the soldier's clothes. She pulled out his NCR issue dog tags and snapped the chain that held them together, taking only the bits of engraved metal.

And then she reached into her own pocket, pulling out her own long chain... and on that chain were more dog tags, dozens of them. She carefully added the three new dog tags she'd just retrieved to the rest of her collection.

When she stood back up, Boone simply quirked an eyebrow at her. Zero smiled apologetically.

"Let's just say I've been looking for a long time."

/

The trip back to civilization wasn't nearly as easy as Boone thought it would be. As night fell on the Mojave, he spotted something on the horizon.

"Wait," Boone said, throwing out a hand. "What's that?"

"Smoke," Zero said softly, squinting between the hills. "That's weird... I didn't think there was a camp there... It's not on my map."

Boone's heart sank as Zero tapped her Pip Boy like she thought it was malfunctioning. It couldn't be...

"It's a Legion camp," he said furiously. "You can hear the drums..."

"How is there a Legion camp this far west?!" Zero exclaimed, but quietly.

Boone glanced at her. Though Zero looked surprised, some other emotion was creeping over her pale face... Something that looked an awful lot like fury.

"Come on, let's scout it out," Boone said, heading for the nearest hill.

When they reached the top and peeked into the camp, Boone's heart sank even further. There had to be at least fifteen men in the camp, plus Legion mutts in cages... The soldiers had tents set up and a fire was burning in the middle of the yard. They'd even begun construction on the crosses for their twisted crucifixions...

"We can take them!" Zero whispered in his ear. For one moment, her warm breath on his skin was the only real thing in the world. Then what she'd said sank in.

"You have a death wish?" Boone whispered back. "We're out numbered eight to one. If they see us, we're dead."

"That's why," the pale girl whispered back, "They won't see us."

Boone glanced at her, one eyebrow raised.

"Are you always this insane?" he muttered, digging his hands into the sand. "Or am I just lucky?"

Zero laughed, gracing him with a blindingly white smile.

"You're just lucky, Mister Boone," she said happily. "So here's how we're going to do this... I'll go in, and..."

"You?" Boone interrupted sharply. "You have a pistol and a machete, you'll get ripped to shreds."

"Oh, is that all?" she said lightly. "You'd better get ready to cover me then, huh?"

And before he could protest further, Zero had slipped away from him and begun inching down the hill, her dark brown leather armor helping her to blend in with the shadows. She disappeared between two tents.

Soldiers were marching in two lines down below, led by what looked like the commander. What was Zero planning to do?

It happened so fast he barely saw it. Something silent flashed from between the two tents and a soldier at the back of the line crumpled to the ground, wheezing. What the hell was that? It had been so fast and quiet, nobody had really noticed yet... And then another fell next to the first.

Two soldiers had finally noticed... They were looking around, on alert now, trying to get the attention of the commander..

Boone raised his rifle. He had to help before they found her...

Thump! Another soldier fell, but this time the silent killer had struck from another spot... Zero was moving around, making sure they didn't know where to look. A fourth soldier fell, sputtering, as something embedded itself in his face.

It was a knife. Boone grinned. Zero was an expert knife thrower. It was perfect... a knife was silent, unlike bullets which would draw attention.

Boone raised his rifle. Now that the soldiers were confused, it was time to take out the commander. The leader was pointing left and right, ordering his troops to spread out and find this unknown assassin. Boone lined up the shot.

Too bad for you, buddy...

Bang!

The commander collapsed, and the remaining troops looked around in alarm, knowing now that they were surrounded...

Without leadership, they ran in all directions, looking for Zero, desperate to save themselves. Boone sniped faster than he ever had in his life. More soldiers fell to the ground, dead, but a few others ran between the tents.

Shit! Boone thought, shouldering his rifle.

Boone scrambled down the hill, drawing his own machete. A rifle wasn't as easy to use at close range. He stormed between the tents, bringing his machete down on the nearest enemy. Blood soaked into the sand... He could hear dogs barking and Zero's pistol firing.

He looked around for Zero, but before he could locate her, a gunshot interrupted. Boone stumbled, his hand going to his side... the bullet had grazed his abdomen, slicing though skin and muscle. How deep, he wasn't sure, but maybe he shouldn't have charged in here so recklessly...

A machine gun began to fire. Panic flared to life in the sniper's chest. He ran around the side of the tent, hoping to see Zero... but she was nowhere in sight. Only three soldiers were left.

Thump!

Another one fell, the one holding the machine gun. This time, Boone saw the flash of steel as it came... and it came from above him.

The soldiers were targeting him now. Boone dove sideways, one hand still at his stomach, and scooped up a fallen Legionnaire's weapon. Bullets whizzed over his head. Ignoring the pain in his abdomen, he raised the pistol, gunning down a second soldier who was obviously in more of a panic than he was...

One left standing. The man glared at him, and Boone could instantly tell this one was determined to kill before he was killed...

Boone raised the borrowed pistol and fired, but it was empty.

Shit!

He'd imagined any number of ways he might die... but this wasn't one of them. He glared at the Legionnaire, intending to go down in defiance...

A tiny figure popped up from behind a tent.

"Hi!" exclaimed a chipper female voice.

Whack!

The Legion soldier's eyes bulged. He took a step forward, a low gurgling sound coming from his mouth... The man coughed once, blood oozing from his lips, before falling flat on his face.

Zero was standing there, a wickedly sharp blade in her hand. There wasn't a scratch on her.

"What... the... hell!" Boone wheezed, glaring at her from his position on the ground. "You could have at least told me what you were going to do!"

Zero knelt down by his side, slipping the blade into her boot. Reflected flames were dancing in her wide eyes.

"What fun would that be?" she said playfully. "You caught on fast enough."

"Great," Boone hissed. "Remind me why I'm traveling with you again?"

"Hm... You just never saw a demonstration!" she exclaimed happily. "How was it?"

"Awesome," the sniper grunted. And he meant it, but his wound was really starting to hurt now that his adrenaline was dying down. "Hey, you got a bandage or something?"

"Oh," Zero said, her happy smile turning into a look of concern as she took in the amount of blood soaking into his shirt.

She looked around swiftly.

"Here," Zero said, gesturing to a bed that was closer to the fire in the middle of camp. "I can fix that."

"Yeah?" Boone said, sitting down where she was indicating. It was close enough to the fire that they were warm in the cold desert and she had enough light to see by.

Humming to herself, Zero took off her pack and sorted through it until she found a needle and thread and some bandages.

Boone watched, baffled, as she did so. What the hell was wrong with this girl? She'd just slaughtered an entire Legion raiding camp and now she was humming happily to herself as she prepared to stitch him up.

His own problems weren't exactly a secret... He'd killed innocent civilians at Bitter Springs, and it had haunted him ever since. And just when he thought he'd found an escape from those painful memories... He'd gotten his darling Carla killed, too. It was enough to drive a man to insanity.

Boone wondered if something like that had happened to Zero... Maybe not knowing what had happened to this mysterious soldier Will had driven her insane.

He jumped as Zero's hands went to his shirt, pushing it up his chest. Her hands were freezing.

"Jesus, give me some warning..."

"Sorry," she said apologetically. "I usually travel by myself. It's... different being with someone else."

Boone said nothing. He almost wanted to pity her, but something told him her solitude was more of a personal choice than something that had been inflicted on her.

"Okay, hold still," she said easily as she disinfected his wound, her needle and thread ready in her hand.

Boone studied her hands as she worked... they were thin and long fingered... and still very cold. But still... Boone couldn't help but think that this was the first time a woman had touched him in months. Her hands worked quickly and surely, and within minutes she'd closed up the wound and pulled his shirt back down for him.

"There," she said cheerfully, her gold eye flashing in the light of the fire.

"Thanks," Boone muttered, stretching his legs out. "You're pretty good at that."

"No problem," Zero said with a grin. "I've had a lot of practice."

Boone went to stand, and Zero forced him back down on the bed.

"Just sit for a minute, wound you?" she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm going to get my knives."

Boone consented to stay still for a few minutes, keeping watch while Zero retrieved her knives from the bodies. A few moments later, Zero plopped herself down next to him and dumped a pile of knives her feet. She ripped a tunic off of a dead Legion soldier and began meticulously cleaning the blades. When she was done cleaning them, she slipped them inside her armor.

Oh, I see now... Boone thought as he watched her hide the knives on her person. Underneath the reinforced leather plates on her armor, there were secret compartments for knives. Her hands were thin enough that she could easily reach inside and pull them out at a moment's notice.

"Handy," Boone commented appreciatively. Not many people specialized in blades. But Boone had to admit, knives had one pretty big advantage out here... they didn't run out of ammo. Assuming Zero never ran into the entire Legion army, she could use her knives over and over and never have to spend money for bullets.

"Thanks," she said, slipping the final blade up her sleeve. "Took a long time to get really good at it, but it was worth it."

Zero looked around at the supply tent.

"Hungry?" she asked, pointing at it. "Looks like dinner in there."

"You bet."

Minutes later, both people were seated by the fire, fresh fruit, meat, and water in their hands. They ate in comfortable silence, watching the stars and moon go by.

Boone glanced sideways at Zero as she sat curled up by the fire, her chin resting on her knees as she stared up at the sky. She'd pushed back her hood a little... a long, black braid hung halfway down her back. Boone had to resist the urge to reach out and touch it.

He frowned at the sky then too... What had just come over him? When had he developed the urge to touch women again? Carla had only been dead for four months...

Boone's gaze landed back on Zero, who hadn't noticed his odd behavior. She was almost the complete opposite of his late wife... Carla had been tall and busty, with bouncy blonde hair and light blue eyes. Zero was almost a head shorter than he was, pale and thin, with long black hair and of course those strange eyes... and yet... she was still lovely in her own unique way.

And Zero was deadly... she wasn't a civilian or a pregnant mother who would be content staying at home, that was for sure.

"Hey," Zero said suddenly, her odd eyes locked onto him. "Can I ask you something?"

"I guess," Boone grunted.

"Manny told me you were at the Bitter Springs incident..."

Boone clenched his jaw, but didn't deny it. It wasn't something he purposely hid, but it was also something he didn't want to talk about. Ever.

"He seemed to think it bothers you," she said quietly. "I think he's worried."

Boone snorted. If there was one thing he knew, it was that Manny wasn't worried about him.

"I guess you could say that," he responded sarcastically. "But I honestly don't give a damn about what he has to say anymore."

"Oh," Zero said softly. "I just thought..."

"Look," Boone snapped. "If you're trying to make me feel better, skip it. I'm not interested."

"Alright," she said shortly, turning her face away from him so that all he could see of her was her hood and long black hair.

Boone instantly regretted his temporary loss of temper. He wanted to say something to open up another line of conversation, but he couldn't think of how to do it... It didn't help that he hadn't known her for very long, so he didn't know what she would want to talk about.

A breeze blew through camp, making the ends of her hair flutter.

Who are you? He wondered, watching her hair dancing in the wind. Why did you want me here with you? It can't have been to just try and give me a pep talk, you could have done that back in Novac...

"Hey, listen..." he began, talking to the back of her head. But Zero cut him off. Which was okay with him, because he hadn't thought of anything to say beyond that point.

"Sorry," she said shortly. "I suppose I shouldn't pry. I read in an old psychology book that people connect through their weaknesses, so I thought maybe..."

You thought I'd want to make a connection with you? Boone finished in his head. Well... it's true that people work better together when they know each other. Maybe I can open up just a little.

"What's yours?" he asked.

"My what?"

"Your weakness?" he prompted.

Zero raised her pale eyebrows.

"Well..." she said, tugging at her hood. "When I was younger I spent six years alone, so I grew up kind of... different. And since I'm still alone so much, I... well..."

"Well, what?" Boone asked, watching as she pulled her hood so tight all he could see was a sliver of her white face.

"I'm not so great with most people. They make me nervous. When I was a teenager, just the idea of going into a town would make me sick. That's why no one ever saw me when I was a courier... I was too afraid to talk to them."

Zero was afraid to talk to people? To talk to anyone? Then why on earth did she want him here with her? Now it really made no sense.

"I've gotten more used to people over the years, but... I could be better," she finished.

"You do alright," Boone said honestly. "Why did you spend six years alone?"

Zero's face became closed off.

"That's another story..." she said, hanging her head for a moment. "So what about you? What's your weakness?"

Boone considered for a moment, watching the fire as it started to die down. To give himself more time to think, he got up and added more wood to the fire. What did he feel comfortable enough to share?

When he sat back down, he'd decided.

"I've got bad things coming to me," he said in a low voice, speaking to the fire. "Because of what I did at Bitter Springs."

He saw Zero frowning like that made no sense to her.

"Why would you think that?"

"Because fair is fair," he said roughly. "I'm a murderer, and I've got to pay for it. I just don't know when it's coming..."

Zero still didn't seem to understand. For some reason, that irritated him. Why was this so hard to understand?

"My wife is dead because of me," Boone growled. "If I'd never gotten close to her... she'd still be alive. You should keep your distance, too."

Another cold breeze blew through the camp, picking up Zero's braid and tossing it around.

"Then why are you here?" she asked him bluntly. "If you're worried about me getting hurt because of these bad things you've got coming to you... then why are you here?"

The sniper threw another log at the fire so that it spit sparks angrily. It was like she was throwing his question back in his face.

"I'm here to kill Legionnaires," Boone spat. "That's all I care about right now. I'm a murderer, and that's all I'm good for. Got it?"

Instead of looking angry at him for snapping at her, Zero simply looked a little sad.

"I think you've got it all wrong," she whispered.

Boone said nothing. He just wanted out of this conversation now... He was done talking. Still... part of him couldn't help but wonder what she meant by that, but he didn't ask.

"I'll take first watch," he said shortly. "You can sleep for a while."

The girl looked like she wanted to protest more, but she decided against it.

"Goodnight," she said softly, wandering over to a bed and curling up on her side, pulling her hood up over her face.

The twisted knot in his stomach seemed to loosen as he watched her sleep. Her posture relaxed in her sleep, her face became less tense. Or what he could see of it, anyway. Although her fingers were still twitching like she wasn't really asleep...

"Goodnight," he said to her, turning himself away from her so he could keep watch.


	3. Chapter 3

Their next stop had been in Freeside to visit the Followers, but they'd had to go through the Strip to get there since they'd somehow approached from the wrong direction.

Boone hated the Strip. He hated the noise, the flashy lights, the hookers, the cheapness of the whole place... And he hated remembering the past. This was where he'd met Carla, and now he'd never seen her again.

Boone wanted to get through that place as fast as possible, and apparently Zero agreed. She was practically speed walking through the place, keeping Boone between her and the prostitutes strolling the broken streets...

"Would you stop?" Boone snapped as she ducked behind him when a hooker started approaching them. "It was your idea to come this way!"

"I got lost!" Zero said, a slight edge to her voice. "And I don't like... those people... touching me."

Can't even say 'prostitute', huh? Boone thought. He didn't really like talking about them, either. He'd long suspected that Carla had been a prostitute at one point in her life, but he'd never forced her to tell him about it. He'd hidden parts of his past that he'd been ashamed of as well.

While Boone was lost in his memories, a male hooker reached out and slapped Zero's butt. Zero twitched like she was having a brief seizure.

"Hands to yourself, pal," Boone snarled threateningly. The hooker simply shrugged and went to bother someone else.

"You alright?" he asked, frowning at her.

"Great," Zero said mechanically, a tic going in her cheek. She looked like she'd just developed a nervous disorder. "Come on..."

It was a relief to leave that place... Except once they'd gotten into Freeside, the name calling started. Apparently some people knew Zero when they saw her, because they seemed to have the insults ready in an instant, flying at Zero from all sides. Most of the culprits seemed to be young men in leather jackets and homeless drug addicts.

"Hey, dead girl!"

"Looking good, freak!"

"Who let the walking corpse in here?!"

Boone thought that was pretty harsh, since there were actual ghouls out there who really did look like corpses. He looked over at Zero to see how she was taking it... Zero was still smiling, but Boone could see the tic going in her cheek again.

Boone instinctively picked up speed, hurrying toward the Mormon Fort... As they passed a corner, a man in a blood soaked shirt flew at them out of a doorway. The man was wielding a baseball bat... In a second, that bat would be coming down on Zero's head.

"Die, freak!" the man shouted.

Before Boone could even draw his machete, a soft, wet crunch met his ears. The crazed man stopped dead, dropping his bat... he fell to the ground, twitching and coughing for a minute, and then didn't move again. There was a blade stuck in between his ribs.

"Oops," Zero whispered, reaching down to pull her knife out of the man's rib cage. She wiped her blade on the man's shirt before stowing it back up her sleeve. "You dropped your bat."

Boone blinked.

"Jesus, remind me not to get on your bad side," Boone commented, letting go of his own blade.

"This isn't my first time going though Freeside," Zero sighed before moving swiftly away from the bloody scene.

Boone was feeling especially eager to leave town when they finally reached the Mormon Fort. He'd come to appreciate Zero's combat prowess, and seeing these people treating her with absolutely no respect was starting to become irritating. Boone was a big believer in respect.

Once inside, Zero walked up to a woman with a large, spiky hairdo who was wearing a doctor's coat.

"Zero!" the doctor said brightly, holding out her arms. Zero smiled nervously, looking very uncomfortable at the notion of a hug, but she allowed the doctor to embrace her. "What did you bring me this time?"

"Fixer," Zero said, emptying her pockets into the doctor's outstretched hands. She must have had at least a dozen packets of medicine.

"Wonderful!" the woman exclaimed, handing off the Fixer to her assistants. Then she noticed Boone standing there, looking sour. "Oh... who's your friend?" she added. "You've never brought a friend with you before. Does he need medical assistance?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Boone said roughly.

"He's my partner," Zero said happily. "Julie, this is Boone. Boone, this is Doctor Julie Farkas."

"Well, any friend of Zero is a friend of ours," Julie said, reaching out to take his hand. Boone briefly shook hands with her. "Zero's been helping us out for years now, and we're looking for a cure for her condition."

"Julie!" Zero protested. "I told you, it's not a condition! I wasn't born this way."

"No," Julie said, fascinated, as she circled Zero, taking in everything from her mismatched eyes to her white lips and fingertips. "It's not, is it? And you're not a ghoul, either... It's amazing that the sun hasn't injured you more, with how white you are..."

"Really, Julie," Zero insisted, holding up her hands as if to ward off the doctor's inspection. "I'm alright. I just want to help."

"Well, at least let Arcade have that blood sample he's been dying for..."

Zero rolled her eyes.

"Fine, he can have the blood sample, but I'm telling you, it's not a medical condition," Zero said firmly.

Julie finished her inspection of Zero and looked Boone over as well. She nodded approvingly.

"Maybe you can get her to tell us what she's hiding, huh?" she said slyly to him. "She won't tell us, but then again, she's never allowed anyone to travel with her before. Maybe it's a sign."

Boone's eyes widened and he glanced at Zero. The girl had developed a sudden interest in the grass by her feet and refused to look up. Julie was giving him a hopeful smile.

"I... I'll try, ma'am," Boone said hesitantly, unsure of what the right thing to say was. If Zero hadn't told her acquaintance of many years why she was so white, why would she tell him? Julie's smile widened.

"Good," she said contentedly. "Zero's saved many lives. It's the least we can do to thank her."

After Zero had given Arcade a blood sample, they left the Fort. Zero led them back through Freeside to the Atomic Wrangler.

"So... you're good friends with that doctor?" Boone asked as they walked.

"I'm not good friends with anybody," Zero said lightly, sidestepping a child who had been running straight at her. "I move around too much."

That fit with what she'd told him before... that people made her nervous. Although she seemed to have much more of a problem with people touching her than she did with simply talking to someone.

She pushed open the door to the bar. Before Boone could register the strangeness of Zero in a bar, a scantily clad woman had thrown herself at him. Boone stumbled sideways.

"Hey, handsome, looking for a good time?" the woman said, blinking eyes at him that were covered in a layer of heavy makeup. Boone gaped at her before regaining his senses.

"Not really, no," he said swiftly, ducking out from under her arms. Zero had already plopped herself down on a bar stool that was far away from the other bar patrons.

"Hey, little Oddball," said the well dressed man behind the bar. "What brings you here?"

Oddball? Boone thought incredulously. He stalked over to where she was and, not knowing what else to do, stood behind her like a silent sentinel.

"Oh, the usual, James," Zero said dryly, tugging her hood down over her face so that no one else could see her. "I'd like two purified waters, please."

The man, James, reached under the bar and retrieved two bottles of water.

"Forty caps," the man said. Boone was still digging in his pocket when he heard the sound of money hitting the counter. Zero had already paid.

"Hey..." he began, frowning, before James cut him off.

"So I see you've finally hired a bodyguard," James said, regarding Boone coolly. "I told you I had potential clients lined up, but I guess you found your own candidate."

Zero buried her face in her hands.

"He's not my bodyguard," Zero moaned through her fingers. "He's my..."

"Partner," Boone butted in before anyone else could cut him off. Maybe it was the fact that Zero had just told him she no friends, but he was also getting tired of people assuming what his relationship with Zero was.

Zero looked back at him, a slightly stunned expression on her pale face, like she couldn't believe he'd willingly admit to that. She silently handed him his water.

"And I can buy my own water, partner," he added firmly, dropping twenty caps in her outstretched hand. James rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, Oddball," he said, dropping the caps in the register. "Oh, and since you're here..." he added, regarding Zero with a professional eye. "We'd like to make a renewed offer on purchasing your extended services. A number of clients have expressed their interest."

It took a moment for that to sink in. But when it did, Boone nearly strangled his drink. These people wanted to use Zero as a prostitute...

Zero bowed her head solemnly.

"That is, if your 'partner' doesn't have any objection?" the man added, quirking an eyebrow at Boone.

Damn right I have an objection! Boone wanted to scream. You can't just take a man's partner and turn her into nothing but a piece of ass!

"Sorry, James," Zero said quietly, after taking a sip of her water. "I'm not for sale."

James shrugged, passing out a drink to another customer.

"The offer still stands, if you change your mind," he said easily.

Slimeball... Boone snarled in his head. Why had Zero brought them here? Did she like being treated like shit? This was what he hated about New Vegas... women, which were so rare in the wasteland, being used like they were disposable human beings. It made him sick to his stomach. That was why he'd never wanted to take Carla back there, though she'd begged him to.

"Of course, James," Zero said calmly. "Is my room still available?"

James winked at her.

"Oh... partner, I see," he said, a sleazy grin spreading across his face as his gaze went from Zero to Boone and then back to Zero. "Sure it is. The Garrets don't forget their friends." He held out a room key to the pale girl.

"Thank you, we'll just be the one night," she said swiftly, taking the key from James' hand and marching off towards the stairs. She motioned for Boone to follow her, which he was only too glad to do, if only so he could get away from that man.

"What the hell are we doing here?" Boone hissed.

"Sleeping," Zero snapped. "It's a lot safer than sleeping on the street or in the wasteland, and the Garrets owe me big time, so they keep this room available for me."

"Not sure I can sleep in this place," Boone grumbled, glancing back at the prostitute who had all but attacked him in her eagerness for a paying customer.

Zero sighed, pulling anxiously on her long, black braid. She turned to face him.

"Then don't sleep," she said softly. "Do whatever you want. I think that woman downstairs likes you."

Boone blinked. Is that what she thought of him? That he'd run off and leave her behind, just so he could get his dick wet?

"That's not what I meant," he said sharply. "I just don't want to stay here. I don't like that guy," he said furiously, pointing downstairs at James, who was wiping the bar down.

Zero frowned at him and then glanced over to where he was pointing.

"Who, James Garret?" she said, sounding baffled. "He's alright. Bit of a sleaze, but really, who isn't around here?"

"That's an understatement," Boone said with a snort.

"Well," Zero said, turning from him and continuing on up the stairs. "Like I said, this is better than sleeping outside."

But as soon as they were in the room, Boone immediately spotted a problem.

"There's only one bed," he pointed out. "Should I go get another room?"

Zero turned to face him. She seemed to be steeling herself to say something.

"Why would you do that after I got this one for free?" she said pragmatically. "Besides, we can... both fit on the bed."

She looked slightly uncomfortable at that, but Boone could tell she was trying to be generous and not freak out at the thought of sleeping so near to someone else.

But that was nothing compared to what he was feeling... The two of them, sleeping together in the same bed? No, no, no... he couldn't do it. Not even in a completely innocent way like she was suggesting.

"I'll sleep over here," he said roughly, gesturing at an armchair that was in the corner.

Zero shrugged like she couldn't care less.

"Okay."

She began removing her armor. Boone, taking the hint, unloaded his weapons and pack, setting them down by his chair.

"Do you mind if I take my hood off?" she asked suddenly.

Startled, Boone looked around. Zero had her armor carefully folded on the nightstand and was dressed in tight combat pants and a dark shirt. Her hood was still on, obscuring her face.

"Why would I mind?" he asked, baffled.

Zero had a sour look on her face, like she was being forced to admit something unpleasant.

"Well... I don't know if you noticed, but people think I'm... weird," she said, her voice tight. "Without my hood on, I look like a freak. I didn't know if that would bother you."

Boone frowned. He'd already guessed that she hid her face on purpose, but in private he felt like she should be able to be who she was without judgment. That was probably why she'd spent six years alone, he thought. She was afraid of what people thought of her.

"It doesn't matter what I think," Boone said shortly. "I'm not here to tell you what to do."

"So does that mean it doesn't bother you?" she asked, raising a pale eyebrow at him.

"Want me to say it again?"

"Okay, okay..." she said. And then she reached up to undo her hood. The heavy cloth fell away, revealing her ghostly white face and neck. The black hair stood out in stark contrast to her skin, it was rather jarring to see it that way without a hood over top...

Zero was done before he was, and she laid down in the bed to sleep. She was so thin, she didn't even take up half of the large bed. She was right... both of them could have easily slept in that bed without touching each other.

Boone sighed and sat in the armchair, closing his eyes, listening to the faint sounds of people talking and laughing downstairs... The armchair was lumpy in all the wrong places, making him wish he hadn't refused to sleep in the bed with Zero. He wasn't going to get much sleep sitting on this thing.

After an hour of shifting and twitching in his chair, he was seriously considering lying down in the bed to sleep. But what would Zero think if she woke up and he was lying next to her? Would she think he was a creep?

He'd just have to stay here... he sat in the dimly lit room, staring at the peeling wallpaper, hoping and praying that sleep would take him... It must have been at least an hour until he finally drifted off.

Of course, that was the nightmares hit.

He could see Carla, his love, dying right in front of him. He saw his bullet piercing her head, watched her collapse to the ground, the life gone from her and his baby... And it was his fault, all his fault... but it was a choice he couldn't take back.

How he wished he could take it back... How he wished he could see her again, hold her, feel her lips on his... Carla was the only person he'd ever met who could put his soul at ease, who could make him forget...

If he could just hear her voice one more time, that would be enough...

"Hey... Are you okay?" came a female voice that was so close. It was sweet and kind and familiar...

"Carla?" he mumbled, reaching out for it with one hand. His fingers met soft skin, which he happily caressed.

"Um..." came the voice, a voice which he suddenly realized was not the voice of his wife...

His eyes snapped open.

A pair of wide, mismatched eyes was staring him down out of a pale face. His hand was touching that face, stroking Zero's white cheek... The girl looked stunned, like she didn't know how to react to him touching her like that...

Startled, he swiftly withdrew his hand.

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking down at his lap. "Dream..."

"Seemed more like a nightmare," Zero said gently.

Boone shifted in his chair. Running away sounded good right now, but no doubt that would cement in Zero's mind that he was a coward who ran away from his problems.

"Just... thinking about Carla," he mumbled, standing up and stretching his arms over his head.

"You still think about her a lot?" Zero asked plaintively.

Zero obviously didn't know what she was doing to him... Emotions were rising in his chest. He felt like he might throw up.

"Every day," he managed. He glanced at her, wondering if she was pitying him... But she was just watching him with her head tilted to one side.

"It's okay," she said softly, standing up next to him. "I get it."

She was so innocent... it made no goddamn sense. How was someone so deadly also so innocent at the same time? A girl like her didn't deserve to be part of what he had coming to him...

"No... no, you don't get it," Boone growled, pinching his eyes shut so he wouldn't cry. "I'm the reason Carla's dead... I killed her."

"It's the Legion," Zero said, an edge to her voice. "All this... it's their fault."

"You still don't get it!" Boone snarled, turning away from her so he wouldn't have to see her face when he admitted this. "I went after her, Carla, when she got taken... And I found her. The Legion was selling her, hundreds of soldiers were there... I saw it through my scope. But after going through the wasteland, I only had one bullet left."

Zero didn't interrupt. Boone, who wasn't looking at his partner, didn't even know if she was still listening to him, but decided to keep talking anyway. Maybe it would help ease some of the pain in his heart if he told her. Maybe it would make him feel less guilty about traveling with her now if she knew what she was getting into by being so close to him.

"I couldn't watch her go through that... I couldn't watch her suffer," Boone moaned to the wall. "So... I took the shot. I'm the one who killed her."

Silence. Zero said nothing. Boone just stood there, waiting for a response... When none came, Boone felt he couldn't stand there like a statue anymore, and he turned around to look at her, to see the horror on her face. Maybe she had changed her mind about traveling with him and was preparing to leave...

But before he could get a good look at her face, she had stepped up to him and put her arms around him. She rested her head against his chest, squeezing him tightly.

Boone froze, resisting his initial desire to push her off. He couldn't do this, be so close to someone... It wasn't right, he wasn't ready.

But that didn't change how right it felt, how good it felt to have a woman holding him again.

Zero didn't say anything. She just stood there holding him, pressing her cheek to his chest. Her skin felt cool at first, but it was slowly losing its chill just by being this close to his own warm body. It was like he was giving her a piece of himself while she offered what comfort she could...

Slowly, awkwardly, he raised his arms to hug her back. He placed his big hands on her lower back, applying a very light pressure. Without her armor, she seemed so small... he felt like he might break her in half if he pressed too hard.

He heard Zero exhaling slowly, felt her breath on his arm. He briefly wondered how hard this was for her, to give even this amount of physical comfort to someone.

Then she pulled away carefully, allowing him a moment to compose himself. She nodded, patting his arm lightly.

Then she knelt down, picked up his armor and offered it to him. The question was clear... Are you still coming with me?

We're getting too close... Boone thought. This might break me in the end.

He put on the armor.

For the first time, Zero smiled. She began applying her own armor. Boone picked up the rest of his belongings, sheathing his machete and putting on his pack just as Zero was finishing getting dressed.

"Are you ready?" she asked serenely.

Boone nodded. I'm ready. Traveling with you... it feels good. It feels right, even though it hurts.


	4. Chapter 4

Boone had wanted to get back to hunting Legionnaires after their awkward stop in Freeside, but Zero had insisted on one more stop at Camp McCarran to visit the Colonel. Boone still wasn't convinced that she really was friends with the Colonel... but then Zero had strolled right into Camp McCarran without anyone trying to stop her. A few soldiers even shouted cheerful greetings at her.

She was certainly being received much better here than she had been in Freeside... They'd entered the old airport, the guard giving her a friendly smile. She'd responded with a chipper 'Hello.'

Before going to see the Colonel, she'd stopped at the restrooms inside the concourse to freshen up. Boone had taken a piss and washed his face while Zero was still cleaning herself up... and then he spotted a familiar face across the concourse. He made his way over there.

"Lieutenant Boyd," Boone said, approaching the woman. Normally he wouldn't have bothered, he wasn't the friendliest guy in the world, but he wanted to ask her something.

"Corporal," the woman said shortly. "I see you've made friends with our resident freak."

"Excuse me?" Boone said, somewhat stunned.

"Her," Lt. Boyd said, jerking her head towards the restrooms. "Do me a favor and take her with you when you leave, she's nothing but a distraction."

Boone frowned. Zero was a little odd looking, but considering how warm of a greeting she'd been given when she'd walked in here... How exactly was she a distraction?

"Yeah... sure," Boone said, deciding not to push the issue with the Lieutenant. She wasn't the friendliest person in the world, either. "You keep track of soldiers that go AWOL, right?"

The woman lit a cigarette and stuck it in her mouth, looking for all the world as though his question wasn't worthy of her full attention.

"Yup," she said eventually.

"You happen to have any news about a trooper, William Logan?"

The woman paused, her cigarette halfway to her mouth. An angry expression was creeping over her face.

"Did she put you up to this?" Lt. Boyd snapped.

"No..." Boone began, completely baffled as to why the Lieutenant was being so hostile.

"Oh, it was the Colonel, wasn't it?" the woman growled, throwing her cigarette on the ground and stomping on it. "Well, I'll tell you what I told both of them... There hasn't been any word of that man in five years. He's dead, get it? Wherever he is, he isn't coming back. Now take your little friend, and get..."

She paused, looking furiously over Boone's shoulder. Boone turned. Zero was standing a little ways behind him, a blank look on her face. She gave the Lieutenant a tentative wave.

"Just get out of here," Lt. Boyd hissed. She jabbed a finger in Zero's direction. Boone instinctively stepped between them. The Lieutenant gave him a disgusted look. "She's nothing but a distraction, nothing but trouble... you'll see," she spat. Then she turned on heel, storming back up the stairs and into her office, slamming the door behind her.

Boone glanced at Zero, who was biting her pale lip nervously as she came to join him.

"Nothing but trouble, huh?" he asked her, trying to make it sound like a joke. So far, nothing much about her suggested that she would be trouble.

Zero gave him a guilty smile, twisting her fingers together.

"Yeah, well... she has her reasons," Zero admitted. "I don't usually stay here very long when I visit..."

She sighed, stuffing her wayward hair back under her hood.

"Well, come on, let's go see the Colonel and then we can get out of here like she wants," Zero said heavily.

You shouldn't let her boss you around, Boone thought to himself. If everyone else here likes you, I'm sure you're not that much trouble.

Zero stepped up to the Colonel's office. The guards still made no attempts to stop her. James Hsu was standing with his back to them, leaning over his desk.

"Colonel Hsu," Zero said softly, waiting in the doorway. The Colonel turned, his weary face softening quite a bit when he saw her. James Hsu stood up straight to greet them. He wasn't the biggest or toughest looking man, but he had a certain presence that commanded respect.

"Miss Zero," the Colonel said, holding out a hand. Zero placed a slim, white hand in his, and James Hsu shook it as gently as if it were made of glass. "Happy to have you back at Camp McCarran." The Colonel glanced over Zero's shoulder at Boone. A grin spread across his face.

"Ah... and Corporal Boone of 1st Recon..." he said in a calculating voice, shaking Boone's hand as well. "I heard we had a rogue soldier on our hands out there..."

Boone frowned at the Colonel.

"With all due respect, Sir, I was honorably discharged from the NCR," he said stiffly. "I'm not a rogue."

"It was a compliment, Corporal," Hsu said, laughter in his voice. "Not many rogue soldiers still stay true to our cause... It's my job to be well informed," he added, seeing the startled look on Boone's face.

Boone simply nodded and took a step back so that that he was standing next to Zero.

"And so you've come back... and with Miss Zero, nonetheless..." the Colonel said, looking between the two of them like he could analyze the entire situation just by the way his guests were standing. "Miss Zero isn't known to have any traveling associates."

"I'm her partner," Boone said firmly, trying to emphasize that there was nothing more between them.

"Really?" James Hsu said curiously. "I had heard rumors that this rogue soldier had an unknown accomplice, but for it to be our friend here... I must say I'm surprised."

"Colonel," Zero interrupted somewhat desperately.

"Call me James," the Colonel said, waving a slightly impatient hand.

"I... James, I just... I have something for you, that's all," Zero said, digging into her pocket and pulling out the long chain of dog tags. The Colonel's face fell.

"So many..." he said faintly. Zero placed the chain in his hand. The Colonel's fingers closed around it. The man closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Camp Guardian was wiped out by the Legion," Zero said softly. James Hsu looked up, a fire in his eyes.

"I'd been fearing the worst for weeks now," he said, clenching the dog tags so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"I'm sorry," Zero said, her fingers twitching by her sides.

"I don't suppose you punished those responsible, did you?" he said, a ferocity in his gaze that had not been there moments ago.

A sad little smile spread across the girl's face.

"An eye for an eye, James," she said with a little curtsy. "It seemed only fair. Boone and I took care of them."

The Colonel nodded, satisfied.

"Good," he said in a low voice. He turned to deposit the dog tags on his desk.

"Miss Zero has been aiding us for months now, bringing us news, rendering assistance when she can, caring for our injured," he explained to Boone, who had been watching their interaction in bewilderment, unable to believe how close a civilian could be to a Colonel...

"It's nothing, Colonel," Zero said, her head bowed.

"And I intend to repay her," the Colonel said, waving aside Zero's modest protests. "Miss Zero, you have proven yourself a valuable ally, and we are prepared to offer you a home here in Camp McCarran. You will be free to come and go as you please. Anything you ever need, you would be welcome to."

Zero shifted anxiously where she stood.

"I... I can't stay here, James," Zero whispered. "I'm sorry."

The Colonel looked as though he had expected that answer.

"Then I have only one more question for you, Miss. But perhaps... I could speak to you privately?" he said, glancing over at Boone. "Corporal, if you could give us a moment?"

Boone didn't particularly like being addressed as such, especially considering he was ex-military now. He didn't like being asked to leave Zero, either... He'd gotten so used to being at Zero's side day and night that being asked to step away from her felt very uncomfortable, like a piece of himself was being ripped away... but how could he refuse the request of a Colonel of the NCR?

Zero was giving him an oddly pleading look.

"I'll... be outside then," he said slowly, backing out into the hallway. To his relief, nobody shut the door behind him, and if he listened carefully, he could still hear the Colonel heaving a mighty sigh.

"I knew you'd refuse, Miss," he said in resigned voice. "But I had to try, the troops have been saying nothing but good things about you. They want you to stay."

Zero laughed lightly.

"I'm not sure my constant presence would be any help," she said happily. "People think I'm kind of funny looking, Sir. You know that."

"James," the Colonel insisted yet again.

"James," Zero corrected herself.

"And you are not funny looking at all, Miss Zero," the Colonel said firmly. "I must confess I find your face to be rather... captivating."

Out in the hallway, Boone's heart skipped a beat. This was not happening right now...

"James?" came Zero's confused voice. There was a muffled sound in the room.

"Miss Zero, if you will allow me this one moment to say..." the Colonel continued gently. "Though your unique beauty captivates me, your passion, your kindness, and your strength are what have truly captured my heart."

"I..." Zero whispered, so faintly Boone could barely hear it.

"And so, I have only one more question for you, Miss... If you cannot accept my offer of hospitality, perhaps you could accept my hand in marriage? Would you stand by my side?" the Colonel said in a calm and steady voice, and yet... Boone could hear genuine affection in it.

"I... but..." Boone heard Zero stammering.

"You have a good soul, Miss, and although you refuse to tell me your name, I could live content with the knowledge that I had a wife as noble and kind as you by my side," James continued, apparently at ease with her stuttering. "Please... allow me to make amends."

Boone felt like he might have a heart attack. His partner, the only good thing he had left in his life, could be lost to him now, in this very moment, because she was being proposed to by a Colonel. A Colonel! A young, handsome Colonel at that. What woman in the right mind would say no?

In that moment, he knew he had to act, he had to do something, anything, before she was lost to him forever...

His feet moved seemingly without any instructions from his brain. And before he could even decide on what on earth he was going to say to convince Zero to continue traveling with him, he had burst back into Colonel Hsu's office.

"Zero," he blurted out, wishing he knew her name, her real name... Now was not a time for false identities.

The Colonel was down on one knee in front of Zero, holding one of her pale hands. He'd removed his beret, he was holding that over his heart. There had been a look of contentment upon his face, at least until he saw Boone standing there in a panic.

Zero's face turned to him, and Boone saw uncertainty in her mismatched eyes. Like she didn't understand why anyone would do this to her... or why the Colonel wanted her.

Boone felt a stab of self-consciousness through his panic... what the hell had just come over him? What if Zero really did want to marry the Colonel?

The Colonel smiled sadly at Boone, like he'd seen this coming, too...

"But perhaps... I have over stepped my bounds," the Colonel said in a rather melancholy voice. "I apologize, Miss, I should have seen..."

But exactly what it was he thought he should have seen, he did not say. He merely got to his feet, brushing the dust off his knees and placing his beret back on his head.

"My apologies to you as well, Corporal..." the Colonel continued.

"Not at all, Sir," Boone managed to get out, aware that he was on the verge of causing a scene.

Zero was looking traumatized. Now that the Colonel had let go of her hand, she didn't seem to know what to do with it. She reached out to touch the man's shoulder. The touch was so light, it was as if she thought the Colonel might explode if she touched him too hard.

"James," she whispered. "I didn't think... I'm sorry. I'd never want to hurt you."

The Colonel's sad expression faded a bit and he patted her hand gently. He seemed to know that she was confused and unsure of what to do.

"There now, Miss, you have done me no lasting harm," the Colonel said firmly. "And as long as you remain safe and happy, I will be satisfied with that."

James glanced up over Zero's shoulder at Boone.

"You will protect her, Corporal?" the Colonel asked. His gaze was somewhat wistful, like he was wishing he could go with Zero and protect her himself. "I am aware I am no longer your superior, but... I would be grateful if you would do this for me."

Boone's first thought was that he would have willingly protected her without being asked. He didn't have much left in his life, but partners always looked out for each other.

"I will, Sir," Boone said shortly. The Colonel nodded, satisfied but obviously still depressed. The radio on his desk began beeping.

"Then good luck to you," James said, retreating behind his desk. He picked up the radio receiver.

"Colonel Hsu here..." he began, and Boone understood that they were being dismissed. Zero quietly beckoned for him to follow her. Zero didn't look back, but Boone could sense the Colonel watching them as they left the building.

/

Boone stared at Zero's long, black braid as she slipped out of the Camp, her head bowed. The soldier's stomach was twisting itself into knots. Why had she refused the Colonel? The man had obviously been heartbroken, although he'd done his best to hide it.

A colonel would have made an excellent husband for Zero. James Hsu could have protected her and kept her safe. She never would have had to wander out into the wasteland again.

Was it because of her mysterious missing soldier, Will? The Lieutenant must have told her many times before that there had been no news of him... Was she keeping herself for a man she believed to be dead? That seemed unlikely... but it was possible.

Did she simply not love him? Maybe she didn't know how to love. Maybe living alone for six years had broken that part of her. Or maybe it had died from lack of use.

 _Miss Zero isn't known to have any traveling associates..._ That's what everyone they'd run into said about her. She traveled alone... she had no friends. She'd even said that herself.

That was just as well, he supposed. He'd loved Carla with all his heart, and it had only ended up hurting him more in the end... Maybe not understanding how to love would keep her from knowing such pain.

If only he could make himself really believe that.

Eventually, he couldn't stand the mystery anymore.

"Why'd you turn down the Colonel?" he said before he could stop himself. "He would have kept you safe."

"That's why I've got you," Zero said brightly. She turned and gave him a wink, but something told him her heart wasn't really in it.

"Really," Boone said seriously. "He's a good man."

"I know he is," Zero sighed, tugging at her hair. "That's why I've been helping him. But we have a, um... a rough history. And his Lieutenant doesn't like me much."

 _Allow me to make amends..._ That was was what the Colonel had said. Had he wronged Zero somehow?

"Something happen there?" he asked.

"Yup," she said, ducking out of sight of the Lieutenant who had just stepped outside. But she didn't elaborate further.

"Still..." the sniper began hesitantly. He was starting to feel like he'd ruined a perfect future for her by interrupting the Colonel's proposal.

Zero stopped so suddenly Boone nearly crashed into her.

"Why is this so important to you?" Zero said exasperatedly. "Even if I did marry the Colonel... how would I consummate the marriage, huh?"

If she was trying to get him to shut up by embarrassing him, it worked. Boone felt his ears reddening. He hadn't really given it much thought, but... if she could barely do hugs, how would she handle sex?

"Oh," he said briefly. He looked away at a line of troopers engaged in target practice like he found it fascinating. He decided to change the subject before things got even more embarrassing.

But before he could do so, Zero had turned to look at him from under her hood. He saw her pale brow wrinkling. The harsh lights in the camp glinted off the twisted scar on her forehead, making it look like a fresh wound.

"But speaking of James... why did you burst in when he asked me to marry him?" she asked curiously, a strange look in her blue eye, like she wasn't sure what to make of him. Boone immediately looked away, shrugging his shoulders like the question didn't bother him.

"Dunno..." he said, probing his feelings, trying to work out the truth. "Guess I didn't want to go back to Novac. This little adventure has been good for me, you know?"

"Would you call war an adventure?" Zero asked, tilting her head to one side as she observed him.

"We're not soldiers," Boone reminded her. Zero rolled her odd eyes.

"You can tell yourself that, Craig Boone..." she said softly. "But you know in your heart it's a lie, don't you? You may have left the military, but you're still a soldier. You still fight for what you believe in, just like James said... This is our war now, we've made it our war."

The knots in Boone's stomach tightened. He wanted to tell her it was none of her damn business, but he'd already opened this can of personal worms by asking her why she'd refused the Colonel's marriage proposal.

"Guess you're right," he said, his voice tight. "That's why I didn't want you to go. This war isn't over, and you're one of the best fighters I've ever seen."

You're a liar, just like she said, Boone thought despondently to himself. You lie to yourself... and now you're lying to your partner. You're not just withholding information, you're lying through your teeth. That's not why you didn't want her to marry the Colonel, and you know it.

"Thank you," Zero said, her fingers twisting in front of her. "But I'm just one person."

"Actually, there's two of us," Boone said with a grin. "So let's get out of here, partner."

"Alright," she said, returning his grin, a light back in her gold eye. "Where to?"

"Think we should search further West?" Boone said, frowning at the sun setting in the direction. "If Legionnaires are getting that bold... they could be heading that way."

Zero was silent for quite some time. He saw her looking out in that direction, her golden eye frozen in her face.

"No... No, I don't go that way," Zero whispered, bowing her head so that her face disappeared. Boone instantly sensed that he was treading on a sensitive topic.

"Why?"

"Come on, there's plenty of Legionnaires east of here just begging for a knife to the face!" Zero said cheerfully, pointing out in that direction. Boone wasn't that great at reading people, but even he wasn't fooled by that fake attempt at cheerfulness.

"That was terrible."

"I know..." she sighed, rolling her eyes again. "I just... I just don't go that way, okay?"

Boone sighed, running a hand over his unshaven cheek. More things she was hiding... He'd already felt like he'd pushed things too far by bothering her about why she didn't want to get married when it should have been painfully obvious... But since he was still breathing, he felt like he could try his hand at this whole bonding thing, even though he knew he was probably going to screw it up.

"Look, this isn't really my thing, but... partners can, uh... talk about stuff," he said hesitantly. "So, if you want to tell me..."

Smooth, Boone... smooth, he thought to himself.

For a moment, he thought she must be so put off by his lame attempt at bonding that she was going to refuse to share anything about her, ever.

"Well..." she said, talking to her bone white fingers. "You already know that even normal people make me nervous... but..."

"Yeah?"

"Out West..." she continued, flexing those pale digits, "There are people who scare me."

Boone felt his muscles tense up... As soon as those words had left her mouth, he knew... These "people" out West had hurt Zero. And she was afraid to go back.

And if entire Legion raiding parties didn't scare her... then what else possibly could?

But it was the tremble in her hands that really made him decide not to push it. This wasn't a nervous twitch from being touched by a stranger... it was a shudder of fear.

"Hey... just forget it. We can go back east... you're right, plenty of Legion soldiers to kill that way," Boone said reasonably.

Zero looked at him gratefully. He could see relief in her blue eye.

"Thanks," she said softly. She seemed to want to touch his hand briefly, but then decided against it.

Boone wished she would... but then he quickly repressed that urge as Zero set out for the main gate.

The pair slipped out of Camp, disappearing into the desert.


	5. Chapter 5

"Bet you I can hit that guy from here," Zero whispered.

Boone raised an eyebrow.

"Ten caps says you miss," he mumbled back.

"Oh, you're so on!"

Zero squinted at the scene. A Legion scouting party had stopped to rest for the night at an old campground. Boone and Zero fortunately had the same idea, only now they had to clean out the trash first before they stopped to sleep and eat.

Two scouts were couching over the fire pit, breaking apart tumbleweeds for tinder. A picnic bench was blocking most of their bodies from view, but their heads were still visible.

Zero slipped a blade out of her sleeve, weighing it in her hand.

Six years alone, Boone thought as he watched the girl's slim fingers closing around the knife's handle. No wonder she was so good at handling blades. Six long, lonely years was plenty of time to become proficient at such a skill.

As soon as the scout moved... He crumpled to the ground, blood spurting from his neck, a blade sprouting from the tender flesh there.

Before the other Legionnaire could so much as run for cover, Boone's bullet pierced his skull. He fell dead next to his comrade.

Zero turned to him, beaming.

"I believe I just won ten caps," she said happily.

"Okay, fine," Boone said, rolling his green eyes. He hadn't really expected her to miss... He dug into his pocket, placing ten caps in her tiny hand. His hand lingered over hers perhaps longer than it should have...

They descended into the campground, dragging the bodies out of their newly acquired space.

While Zero raided the dead Legionnaires' things, Boone went to ensure the rest of the area was secure. That when he came across a rather unpleasant surprise.

Apparently there had been people living here already... Because there, lying inside the broken down camper, was a family. Father, mother, and child... all dead, curled around each other as they slept forever. No doubt they'd been huddled together for warmth when they'd been shot dead in their sleep.

Boone wanted to look away, but he found himself transfixed by the sight... Painful emotions began burning in his chest, and he couldn't keep them away.

Boone looked at the dead family, and he saw himself.

That was him in there. He was the one lying dead on the floor, his arms around Carla's corpse while their deceased infant lay between them. That poor baby never even had a chance...

I should be sleeping forever, too, he thought bitterly. I abandoned my wife and baby. At least this family stayed together, even if it is in death.

His fingers absently tapped at his machete. He wanted his death to come for him already, he was tired of waiting... He was supposed to find his doom out here. So where was it?

A cold desert wind whipped around him.

"Hey..." said a quiet voice at his shoulder.

Almost as if he were in a trance, Boone turned to face that sweet voice. It pulled at him and gave him no choice, he had to follow it.

There were those goddamn eyes... one sapphire blue eye and one bright gold eye staring him down. No, even worse... looking right through him. He couldn't just avoid her gaze. Even when he looked away, she saw him, saw everything in his head. Or at least, that was how he was starting to feel.

And just like that, as he looked into her eyes... that feeling of needing death, of wanting this all to end, started to fade from his mind.

"Come here," she said, beckoning to him... Sand swirled around her thin form. Boone obediently stepped away from the depressing scene. Zero closed the door to the camper, entombing the victims inside. Boone supposed there were worse graves out there.

Zero had started a fire. She pressed some banana yucca fruit into his hands before settling herself sideways near the fire, tucking her feet up under her little butt. Then she heaved a sad sigh, pulling her hood down over her forehead.

Her bone white fingers started absently tracing pictures in the smooth sand by her knees. She quickly sketched out an enormous, fiery sun.

"You're sad," she stated, wiping away the drawing of the sun.

"Really?" Boone said sarcastically. "How could you tell?"

"You're easy to read," she said apologetically.

Boone snorted, peeling his fruit, trying to act indifferent even though she'd basically just confirmed his fears that she could always tell exactly what he was thinking.

"If you say so."

Zero was silent as she nibbled delicately on her fruit.

"So I was thinking... maybe going back to Bitter Springs would help you?" she said hesitantly.

Boone's head snapped up. He accidentally crushed his banana as shock and anger overtook him.

"I don't think so," he growled, wiping the banana mush off his palm. "That's a memory I don't want refreshed."

Zero drew a frowny face in the sand.

"Maybe forgetting isn't what you need," she whispered to the sad face she'd made by her knee.

Boone snatched up another piece of fruit, determined not to crush this one. He wasn't really in the mood to listen to a lecture from someone who was afraid of everyone she met. Well... everyone but him.

"What would you know about it?" Boone snapped, hoping to put her off this topic. "You weren't there."

Zero shook her head, but Boone saw a bitter expression on her face.

"Doesn't matter..." she mumbled, "Because in my experience, people don't just _forget_ traumatic memories like yours... I know I never forgot mine."

She'd drawn something else in the sand next to the sad face... It looked like waves, like water.

Boone momentarily forgot what they were talking about. What was it that she couldn't forget? He had a feeling this sketch had something to do with it...

"What's with the water?" Boone asked, pointing at her picture in the sand. Zero seemed surprised at what she'd drawn and she hastily erased her sketch of the water, too.

"Oh..." she said, like she'd forgotten their conversation already as well. She gave him a sly smile. "Nothing. I was just doodling."

"Uh huh," Boone said skeptically.

"Anyway," she said swiftly, brushing the sand from her white hands, "I think if we go back there... I could help you."

"That's the offer, huh?" he said stiffly, not happy that they were back to talking about him now. "We go back there... and you help me?"

Zero shrugged, still not put off by his attitude.

"I think I could," she said easily, breaking a stick in half to throw on the tiny fire. "So how about it? I'll help you with what you remember, and all you have to do is come along."

Boone considered for a moment. He added a few more dry sticks to the fire as well. While he had initially recoiled at the idea, now... it seemed appropriate. Of course his journey would lead him back there...

"Okay," he said suddenly. Zero looked surprised, like she hadn't expected him to agree to her plan so readily. "I'll go... if you tell me your name. Your real name."

Zero's face became a mask of irritation, but only for a moment. The annoyance faded to be replaced with resignation, like she knew that he'd eventually get the information out of her.

"Alright," she said softly to the sand. "I can tell you that."

"Yeah?"

She nodded, pulling her braid over her shoulder... just another thing to hide behind.

"Can I ask what you're going to do with my name?"

Boone felt himself smiling sadly, and it didn't feel forced... he hadn't realized how much he wanted to know her name until she'd finally agreed to tell him.

"Keep it with me," he said shortly.

I just want to hang on to it, something to replace the pain. Is that so wrong?

"Okay," she whispered, an unusual glow in her eyes... for a moment, she seemed even more unreal than she normally did. "You keep it. Honestly... I don't know if I can anymore."

/

The walk to Bitter Springs had been tense. Both partners knew that once they got there, unpleasant truths were likely going to be ripped out of them.

Hardly anyone had batted an eye when they'd walked into camp. Zero had immediately gone to comfort a sobbing woman, leaving Boone to trail awkwardly after her.

The place looked a lot different now... refugees were everywhere and there were hardly any soldiers manning the military operation. He went to grab Zero, to take her to the ridge where his entire life had gone to shit.

Zero seemingly wasn't very good at comforting people, because the woman was trying to brush her off.

"Come on," Boone said, tapping her on the shoulder. "There's something... I want to see."

Zero glanced at him and nodded. Before standing up, she handed the woman a cactus fruit from her pack.

As they walked away, Boone was sure he heard a whispered 'thank you.'

"We set up on the ridge down there," Boone said, pointing to the ridge below the camp.

"Let's go," Zero said, setting off for it. She didn't even have to ask, she knew exactly what he wanted to see.

They reached the ridge, Boone looking around, remembering the fear in his heart when he'd begun to fire on those civilians... It was another thing he could never take back.

His heart heavy at just the memory of what he did, he told Zero everything he remembered from that fateful day. Zero was a good listener. She let him talk, her gaze soft and understanding as she took it all in. When he was done, she didn't say she was sorry, she didn't offer any hollow words of comfort, which he appreciated.

"Did you want to stay?" she asked, blinking at him. "We can go..."

"Yeah... Could we spend the night here?" Boone asked in a low voice, staring out at the full moon.

Zero nodded, settling herself on a nearby rock. She gazed up at the full moon as well... After a while, mulling over this hellish place became too difficult, and his gaze landed back on Zero, her white skin glowing even brighter than the moon...

They'd been traveling together for three months now... What did she think of him, especially now that they were here and she knew what he'd done? Was her caring attitude all an act? But if it was... why would she do that? What could she possibly hope to gain?

Maybe, just maybe... she's looking for a friend, not just a partner, said an unusually optimistic voice in his head. Maybe it hurts her to see you this way, devoid of all hope and purpose...

Could he even still have a purpose aside from killing Legionnaires?

I'm a protector, Boone told himself, desperate for one shred of evidence that he was still a good person... One piece of his soul that was still worth hanging on to. All he'd wanted to do was protect the innocent, like those refugees up in that camp... He wanted to protect people like Zero.

He glanced at Zero... she had said she'd help him, but so far all she'd done was listen.

"Why did we come here?" Boone grumbled under his breath. "All I wanted to do was forget this place, and here I am..."

Zero blinked at him.

"I still don't understand why you try so hard to forget," she said serenely.

"Because remembering fucking hurts, that's why," Boone snapped. "It just reminds me that I'm a goddamn murderer who's just waiting for God or whatever to pass judgment on me."

Zero shook her head.

"I still think you've got it all wrong," she whispered, digging in her pocket. After a moment, she pulled out an old pre-war silver coin. She held it up in the moonlight.

"You see your future like a coin toss where you can't determine the outcome... like whatever side the coin lands on, you can't change it," she said, flipping the coin between her fingers.

"I _can't_ change it," Boone snapped. "It's not up to me."

"But life doesn't work like that," she said softly. "Maybe some things are out of your control, but... we made the choices that brought us here. You don't have to just... wait for the end to take you. You can choose your own side, your own path."

She flipped the coin in the air and caught it deftly.

"So which side will you choose?" she asked, a strange glint in her blue eye. "Heads? Or tails?"

"As easy as that, huh?" Boone said sarcastically. "Just choose?"

Zero nodded.

"As easy as that," she said contentedly, like she already knew what side she was on. "Heads or tails. Life or death. Good or evil. You can decide for yourself."

Boone just stared at her.

"Look..." Zero sighed. "Forgetting never helped me. I had to choose something else. And so do you. You'll never forget... but you can always choose a side."

Zero considered the coin as she flipped it between her dexterous fingers.

"Here," Zero said eventually, tossing him the coin. "It always helps me think."

Boone snatched the coin out of the air, feeling its cold metal surface biting into his skin.

They didn't talk much the rest of the night. Zero's words were still burning in his mind, her silver coin sitting in the palm of his hand. This was the 'help' she was offering him... an old coin. Boone didn't think much of it just yet... But she was right about one thing, it had given him something to think about.

Fate... or choice? Which was right?

Zero fell asleep on her rock at about four in the morning, but Boone stayed awake to keep watch.

Who are you? Boone thought once more as he watched her sleeping. I still don't know... You know me, but do you still not trust me?

The sniper sighed, digging his heels into the sand. He flipped Zero's coin between his fingers, feeling the worn down surface.

What is it that you chose, Zero? If I asked... would you tell me?


	6. Chapter 6

Closer to seven in the morning, Boone caught a glimpse of red on the horizon...

Zero, seemingly with that sixth sense of hers that allowed her to know when danger was coming, got up off her rock and rubbed her eyes. She came to stand next to him and in about five seconds she had spotted what he was seeing.

"What's that?" Zero said sharply, pulling her hood down over her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun.

"Legion raiding party... a big one," Boone said grimly, griping his rifle. This was it... this was what this journey had been leading him to. This was his judgment day. He should have known all along... He would have to make payment for his crimes.

But he couldn't forget Zero's words... That he could choose a new path for himself. He wasn't sure what to think now. Was he being punished, or being given a choice?

Heads or tails. Life or death. Good or evil.

He glanced at Zero as she stared out over the horizon, watching the enemy troops approaching. She seemed to know that he was watching her... she turned her head slightly, locking her mismatched eyes with his green ones.

He could practically sense the challenge in her gaze.

 _So what's it gonna be?_ That was what she was asking. _You pick a side yet?_

Boone slipped a hand in his pocket, feeling Zero's coin sitting innocently inside it. One tiny piece of metal... one life changing decision.

I know what side I want to be on, Zero. I get it now. This was beyond my control, but I know what I want my choice to be.

Are you on my side, too?

"If you want to go, you should probably go now..." he said, his heart in his throat. "But I'm staying. I won't let those bastards have this camp. I'll hold them off as long as I can."

Faster than the eye could follow, Zero's hands went up her sleeves, withdrawing two wickedly sharp blades which she spun between her pale fingers with ease. A lazy grin spread across her face.

"Mind if I crash their party, too?" she chirped happily, sheathing her weapons with another flick of her wrists so that they disappeared up her sleeves once more. "I can't let you have all the fun!"

Boone laughed then, a real laugh... With a friend like Zero on his side, maybe... maybe he stood a chance after all.

"I don't think I'd hold it against you," he said. On a whim, he reached out to brush her hand with his, to touch her just for a moment, and to maybe put a lot of unsaid things into that touch... He took it as a good sign when she didn't pull away.

Thank you... thanks for being here. Thank you for having some hope for me, even if I have none for myself.

Maybe she understood what he was trying to say, because Zero's grin became softer for a moment. Her golden eye glowed, her blue eye had a sparkle in it. Beautiful.

She stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

"Oh, this is going to be _so_ much fun!" she exclaimed. With that said, she scrambled up the cliff side just outside of the camp, ready to begin her slaughter... Boone took up position on a higher ledge right behind her. In the camp, he could hear the sound of what few soldiers Bitter Springs had readying themselves for battle...

And there they were, advancing over the hills. Boone easily spotted the flag bearer leading the group. He took aim, and...

Bang!

Boone fired off a shot as soon as that flag bearer was in range. The flag bearer fell, and the rest of the Legion soldiers scrambled in all directions. Some took cover, but some of the braver ones started charging toward the camp with reckless abandon, vicious mutts following after them.

Boone saw Zero edging closer to the action, a blade ready in her hand. As soon as the first target was close enough to her...

Thump!

The enemy fell flat on his face, a blade sunk into his neck. The other Legionnaires tripped over his body, giving the NCR soldiers a chance to join in the fire fight...

"Zero!" Boone shouted. "I'm going to get the others! Keep anyone from reaching the camp!"

"Got it!" came the answer. A tiny shadow leaped from the cliff side, steel flying from her hands, and two soldiers he hadn't seen staggered, knives embedded in between their ribs.

Once he'd reached the bottom of the cliff, Zero darted past him. He saw her wrenching one of her knives from a man's chest. As soon as it was in her hand, she threw it again, and it hit right on target in the rib cage of a Legion mutt. The dog let out a startled yelp before collapsing.

More bloody knives in her hand, she leaped over another corpse and disappeared around the side of a tent. Refugees were running everywhere, the NCR troopers attempting to protect who they could... but there were so few of them.

"Hold this line!" Boone yelled, gunning down a Legionnaire who was attempting to flee. He scooped up the dead man's weapon, stuffing it in his belt.

The other Legion soldiers were advancing up past the recreational area... They'd come out of hiding once they'd seen that he was the only one coming for them. A rifle would be too slow, so Boone dragged out his borrowed gun.

That was when the second half of the raiding party appeared.

Shit! He wasn't prepared to handle that many...

Boone ducked out of sight before he was made the primary target. He gunned down anyone who was stupid enough to come near with his borrowed pistol, but the rest escaped up towards the camp...

No! Boone snarled. He raised his rifle and charged up the hill, lining up a shot as he ran. Zero was up there, she'd back him up.

He gunned down one of the men from behind. But then the rest turned and spotted him. Boone dropped to the ground to avoid the hail of bullets. He peeked out from behind the rock.

Bang! Another one fell. Boone grinned. The NCR troopers hadn't given up...

Another Legion soldier stumbled and fell dead on top of his comrade, a knife lodged in his back. Zero hadn't given up, either.

Fuckers! Boone screamed in his head. Think you can take us? We've bled enough of your buddies to make the Colorado River run red!

He stood up, lifting his rifle to his shoulder. Through his scope, he saw Zero leap from the top of a hut, another blade in her hand. She smashed into a Legionnaire carrying a massive machine gun, her knife sinking into his shoulder. The two of them tumbled out of sight.

That was when he heard a strangled scream of pain. It seemed so off to him, so strange, he could barely comprehend it... It was Zero screaming.

Zero... no, no, no!

Panic flared to life in his chest, giving more strength than he'd ever thought he could possess... He was close enough now, he drew his machete, cutting down the nearest Legionnaire. Blood dripped down the blade, dribbling down his wrist...

If Zero was dead... no, he couldn't believe that. It just couldn't be.

Blood was soaking into the sand and into his clothes. Boone stumbled over more bodies with knives sticking out of them, praying Zero was still alive... she had to be, she just had to be...

As he frantically searched for his partner, a stray bullet pierced the back of his hand, making him drop his blood soaked blade. Boone felt his middle finger go numb... there was a small hole in the back of his hand. His own blood was slowly seeping from the hole. He couldn't use a machete like this... he switched back to his rifle.

The ex-soldier raised his signature weapon, once more firing faster than he ever had in his life, especially with a hand that was half numb. He kept firing until he was completely out of bullets. He dropped to the ground, desperately searching for another gun he could borrow... more Legionnaires were still here, he couldn't die now...

That was when a knife whizzed by his head, finding a home in the eye socket of a Legion soldier who had been trying to sneak up on him.

Zero... Boone thought, relieved. She was still alive. He turned to look at her, to confirm that she was okay, but all he saw was a glimpse of her black hair as she ducked back behind a hut. Boone grabbed a weapon off a fallen NCR trooper... no way would he let Zero down.

The battle didn't last much longer after that. The Legion soldiers obviously hadn't been expecting to meet such resistance when they'd come here. Boone and Zero's presence had inspired the NCR soldiers to fight much harder than Boone suspected they normally would have.

We actually did it... Boone thought breathlessly, staring around at the wreckage of the camp. How the hell is this possible? I thought I was here to be punished... Why aren't I being punished?

She was right, Zero was right all along... We saved the camp, the two of us. Because of what we chose, we've saved this place and these people.

_We made the choices that brought us here._

He watched as Zero emerged from behind a tent, dragging a wounded refugee with her. Putting aside his confused emotions, he ran up to help her.

"Hey, how can I help?" Boone grunted, wiping his bloody hands on his pants. His middle finger was still inconveniently numb, but other than that he was feeling pretty good, if a little shaken. Zero looked at him gratefully.

"Help me with this woman?" Zero asked. Boone saw with some concern that her gaze had dulled... and then his gut lurched as he noticed why. There was a thick gash on her shoulder, like someone had tried to cut her throat and missed. The jagged cut was oozing blood, staining her armor crimson. So she really had been hurt when she screamed earlier...

"Whoa," Boone said, taking the wounded woman from her. He quickly laid the woman on a cot, shocked that Zero had even been able to carry the woman that far... Now that she wasn't carrying a wounded refugee, Zero was swaying where she stood.

"Hey, you're the one who needs help," Boone said gruffly, putting an arm around her back so she wouldn't fall.

"I'm fine," she said faintly, her hand going to cover her wound like she could make it disappear just by hiding it from view. "These people need help..." her pained gaze passed over his face. "Are... are you okay?"

Jesus, Zero, why are you worried about me?

"Sit down," Boone said firmly, forcing her down on an open cot. "I'll get the medic."

"But..." Zero stared to protest before her eyes rolled up into her head and she started to fall sideways. Boone caught her in his arms, but she was as limp as a rag doll.

"Hey, hey!" Boone yelled, panic spreading through his chest, burning like molten metal. "Medic! I need a medic!"

"A little busy over here!" came the response. The field medic was hovering over a child whose arm was riddled with holes.

Boone leaped over dead Legionnaires in his rush to get to the medic.

"Just... just give me the supplies! I'll fix her myself!" Boone demanded of the man. He had a little experience in emergency medicine, that would have to do.

"Who?" the medic snapped, applying pressure to the child's wounds.

A spare medical supply bag was just sitting there... explaining himself would take way too long. Boone knew that every second counted right now.

"Sorry, need this," Boone spat, snatching the supplies right out from under the medic and taking off out of reach.

"Hey!" the medic shouted after him. "Bring that back!"

"My friend's dying! Fuck you!" Boone screamed in response, not even bothering to look around as he did so.

Boone darted back over to Zero, cringing at the sight of her blood dripping onto the cot... He ripped off her shoulder armor, exposing her wound, which was worse than he'd thought... it went all the way to the bone. Her entire chest was covered in blood. Boone wiped it off, slapping medicine on the gash and frantically pressing bandages to it, desperate to stem the blood flow...

"Come on!" Boone snarled, watching as Zero grew paler and paler right before his eyes, if that was even possible...

This can't be how it ends! He screamed in his head. I make it out of this place alive, and Zero dies right in front of me? It should be me bleeding to death, not her!

A small hand gripped his arm. He turned towards the unwanted grip, mouth still open in a snarl.

"What?!" he spat.

A pair of terrified chocolate brown eyes were looking up at him... It was the woman who Zero had been trying to help.

"Sir," she whispered. "Will she live?"

"I don't know!" the sniper snarled, his fear coming out as fury...

"She is... your friend?"

"Yes, she's my friend! It should be me who's hurt, it should have been me!"

Hot tears stung his eyes, blurring his view of Zero.

"Why couldn't it have been me?" he hissed through his teeth. A single tear escaped down his cheek, eventually landing on Zero's bare shoulder.

Why had he let her stay? No, scratch that, why had he let her talk him into coming back here? It had served no purpose except... except... he looked at the woman who was staring, open mouthed, at the unconscious Zero. Except that if they hadn't been here, this camp probably would have been wiped out.

He pinched his eyes shut, unable to look at her anymore. They'd saved the camp, but the price had been high... if Zero died in his arms, the price had been much too high.

"Alright, let me see her," came a gruff, weary voice from behind him. The medic had finally arrived, apparently having forgiven Boone for stealing his supplies.

Boone hastily stepped back, letting the medic swoop down on Zero. The ex-soldier backed up further, his heart pounding against his ribs. Zero's blood was drying on his hands, mixing with his own.

He'd never found out her real name. What if she died here, and he never knew her name?

But he knew enough. She was good, and kind, and brave... he'd never had a better friend.

"Help me move this cot into a tent," the medic snapped urgently. "I need to remove the rest of this armor."

Boone helped the medic pick up Zero's cot and carry it into the nearest tent. The medic went straight for the rest of Zero's armor.

"Hold those bandages on," the man said swiftly. Boone complied, being asked to help was better than being asked to wait outside, not knowing what was happening, if Zero was alive or dead... But her chest was still rising and falling ever so slightly as she breathed.

The medic worked fast... the rest of Zero's armor disappeared, leaving her in her flimsy cotton undershirt. He then removed the bandages Boone had been holding in place.

"Fractured clavicle," the medic said, more to himself than anything. "She needs stitches... that artery's been hit..."

"Just do it!" Boone said breathlessly. "Stitch her up!"

"Sir, if you can't calm down, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," the medic said sternly.

"If you weren't the only medic in this godforsaken camp I'd knock your teeth out for asking me that," Boone snarled. "Stitch her up _now_!"

The medic looked like he wanted to protest, but then decided that saving Zero was more important. He extracted a syringe from his bag.

"Stabilizing..." the medic said out loud, injecting Zero's limp arm with a stimpak.

Once that was done, the man dragged out a curved needle and thread. Before he started, he glared at Boone, who was still standing there with his jaw clenched.

"Hold her hand," the medic demanded, preparing to start.

"What?" Boone replied, caught off guard. "Why?"

"Who's the doctor here? You?" the man said roughly. "Hold her hand."

Boone sighed and sat down by Zero's cot. He reached out, and her cold, clammy hand disappeared into his big, sweaty one. He let his injured hand rest in his lap. It had stopped bleeding, but it was still half numb.

The medic began his work, sweat dripping from his forehead. Boone continued to hold Zero's cold hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb.

"Talk to her," the medic said suddenly, without so much as a pause in his stitching.

"What about?" Boone said, shifting nervously.

"Let her know you're here," the man said, wiping his sweaty brow. "Patients have better recovery rates when they know loved ones are nearby."

Loved ones...

Boone's stomach clenched. Was Zero his loved one? He almost wanted to protest that he and Zero weren't a couple, but he couldn't make the words come out. He glanced at the medic who was working furiously again. There were a lot of things he wanted to say to Zero, especially if she could still hear him, but he wasn't sure he wanted to say them with another man listening in. But this might be his last chance to talk to her...

"Hey, Zero," he said, trying not to choke on his words. "I, um... Look, just hang in there, okay? I'm not going anywhere. You're my partner, and we make a damn good team."

Her hand was starting to get warmer from being in his. He hoped that was a good thing. The medic nodded for him to keep going.

"When you showed up in Novac... I knew I was supposed to go with you. You were going to turn my whole life upside down," he joked, squeezing her hand lightly. "And you were right about so many things... about the world... about me."

He sighed, rubbing her wrist too, warming her up more.

"What I'm trying to say is... you can't check out just yet, alright? I need you," he said softly.

Saying it out loud made him realize it was true. Whatever they were to each other... partners, friends... it was something he couldn't live without, not anymore.

He jumped when something beeped on her Pip Boy and a message popped up on the screen. Boone had never looked at her Pip Boy much, she always told him what she was using it for anyway.

But his name on the small screen caught his eye.

He carefully turned her wrist so he could see it better...

Boone,

Just in case I don't make it out of here, I want you to know that it was my choice to stay. I've enjoyed traveling with you. Thank you for being willing to take a chance on a weird little girl from nowhere. Hang onto my coin for me, to remind you that you can always choose a side.

Zero

Boone pinched his eyes shut, flipping the switch to turn off the little machine. Zero's silver coin seemed to grow heavier in his pocket.

You're not just a weird little girl, Zero... you're _my_ weird little girl. I'm not letting you go, you got that?

Boone jumped again as an NCR trooper burst into the tent, interrupting his train of thought.

"Excuse me, Sir!" said the trooper, coming to an abrupt halt to give Boone a quick salute. "More Legionnaires are hiding in the canyon, and the Captain wishes us to attack before they reach us. We would greatly appreciate your assistance!"

Boone didn't move, he just looked back at Zero. He couldn't just leave her side while she was hanging in between life and death.

"Can't," he said stiffly. "Sorry."

My partner needs me. I can't just leave her behind.

"I must insist, Sir," the trooper said anxiously. "You're the only sharpshooter in the camp. We've signaled Ranger Station Bravo, but the Legionnaires might reach this place before the Rangers arrive."

Boone sighed, attempting to flex his numb hand. Most of his fingers moved... but he couldn't feel it very well. That didn't matter, he didn't want to feel right now.

Zero's white face was tilted toward him, still hidden inside her hood. Since he was holding her hand with his good hand, he used his numb hand to push back her hood, feeling her cold forehead. She didn't respond.

Under normal circumstances, she probably wouldn't have let him touch her like this. Though he didn't want to feel anything... this felt good. It felt right, just like her holding him felt right...

The trooper made an impatient noise. The medic was about halfway done stitching Zero back together, he wasn't following their conversation at all.

The sniper sighed, withdrawing his hand from Zero's forehead. He knew he was going to have to go. Still didn't want to, though.

Zero would want me to help, Boone thought. And if Legionnaires get here while she's out, she could be in big trouble.

He squeezed Zero's limp hand, and then stood up.

"I'll be back," he said to her. "I promise."


	7. Chapter 7

Boone crept through the canyon, trying to keep out of sight... he wished it was night time. He'd be more stealthy at night.

He hadn't wanted to work with the other troopers, because if he started having a panic attack at the thought of Zero dying on him, he didn't want anyone else to see that. Mental breakdowns were best kept private.

Besides, Zero was really the only person he felt comfortable working with anymore. He didn't know these NCR troopers... he didn't know if he could trust them, didn't know their skills... No, he was better off alone.

A bone dry wind was pulsing through the canyon, blowing sand into his eyes. He put on his sunglasses. Then, out of habit, he looked around, expecting to see Zero following him... but of course she wasn't there.

And it was weird. He missed how she'd laugh when he scowled at her, he missed her cheerful humming at his back, he missed the way her eyes glowed when she smiled at him... Boone shook his head to clear his mind.

Keep it together, he told himself. Don't lose it. She's tough, she's still alive. And so are you. That's why you're out here, you still have blood in your veins, blood to shed for your partner. She bled for you, because she was on your side... now it's your turn to prove you're on her side.

He froze as the sound of people talking met his ears... there were voices nearby.

The sniper crept closer... And there they were. A small group of Legion soldiers were huddled underneath an outcropping of rock, but there were only about five or six of them.

"Why are we still attacking that pathetic camp?" one soldier muttered. "The NCR operation there is minimal."

"And there are barely any captives worth taking in that place as it is," another Legionnaire grumbled. "All malnourished and weak. They would be all but useless."

"I'm sure the Fort is planning on a site for us to regroup at..."

Boone heard the beep a radio. And then a minute later...

"New orders from the Fort. Bitter Springs is sheltering someone Caesar wants dead," another soldier answered, who seemed to be the leader. "She has been difficult to trace, and Caesar does not wish us to waste this opportunity to dispose of her. She has been wounded as well... even better."

Zero... they were talking about Zero! Exactly how long had she been terrorizing the Legion to get them to continue to fight a losing battle just to try and take her out?

"We are provoking the enemy to dispose of a _woman_?" someone said incredulously. "How much trouble could a _woman_ really be?"

"It's Caesar's orders! You would dare defy him?"

"Never," the same person growled. "But we're outnumbered now... Bitter Springs has called on the Rangers for assistance. We would be more successful if we wait for our own reinforcements."

"Coward," the other soldier snarled. "We attack now, while they are still in disarray. That woman is to be killed on sight. We are not taking captives today, we cannot risk her escaping."

"Must we kill her?" a rough voice asked. "If this woman could be broken... I could use a decent specimen for breeding."

Boone nearly threw up in his mouth. Hearing this shit straight from the horse's mouth was absolutely disgusting. No way was anyone using Zero as a specimen for breeding.

The sniper grit his teeth. He couldn't let these bastards leave this place alive. He reached into his pocket and pulled out something he'd borrowed from the camp... a grenade. He couldn't expect top performance from himself with an injured hand, but this would do the trick for him.

Got a little present for you, boys...

He edged closer to their hiding spot. When he was sure no one was looking in his direction, he pulled the pin, letting the grenade cook in his hand for a moment or two before throwing it.

A satisfying boom met his ears a second later.

Boone stood up, a pistol in his hand, to survey the destruction. Mutilated corpses were strew all around, blood spattering the brown stone walls. But one soldier was still moving as he lay there on his stomach.

Cold fury mounting in his blood, Boone strolled over to the weakly stirring body. He kicked the Legionnaire in the side, rolling him over onto his back.

Boone aimed his pistol at the man's head, about to place a bullet between his eyes... but then an idea struck him. He lowered the gun.

"Hey," Boone said easily. "Sorry to cut your plans short, but..."

"Bastard," the soldier groaned.

"I was going to kill you, but I have a better idea. You're going to deliver a message for me," Boone talked over him. If the Legion was already gunning for Zero, he had to convince them that trying to assassinate her was a mistake. He had to make them afraid... it probably wouldn't work, but it was worth a shot.

He knelt down next to the wounded man, his lips moving to form a twisted smile.

"You run back to that pathetic little man you call a leader, and you tell him... you tell him if he wants my partner, he'll have to come get her himself, and when he does..."

Boone paused then, smiling even wider as he thought of all things he'd like to do to that man... Death was too good for him.

"When he does, I'll string him up with his own fucking intestines," Boone hissed. "I'll rip out his spine, if he even has one... we'll find out, I guess, huh?"

The Legionnaire was attempting to back away from him.

"Caesar will crush you," the soldier moaned, trying to stem the flow of blood coming from his leg. Boone ignored him.

"You tell him that for me... You tell him his days are numbered," the sniper said, cold fury still pulsing through him. It was hard enough even leaving this one Legion soldier alive. But he needed someone to deliver his message.

"Now GO!" Boone screamed, aiming his pistol back at the Legionnaire's head. "Go crawling back to your little fort, unless you'd rather take a bullet to the brain right now, you fucking coward!"

The Legionnaire tried to stand, couldn't manage it, and instead began to crawl.

You really are a coward, Boone snarled in his head. Afraid to die, huh? You act so tough, terrorizing innocent women and children, but in the end you're nothing but a bunch of weaklings.

He hoped his message would be delivered and that it might make the Legion decide coming after Zero was more trouble than it was worth, but he wasn't holding his breath. At least he'd done what he'd came out here to do, eliminate the remaining Legionnaires.

Boone stood for a little while longer and watched as the Legion soldier crawled across the desert, leaving a little blood trail as he went. When he was satisfied that the man really was crawling back towards Legion territory, Boone turned around and began trudging back towards Bitter Springs.

Because now that the task at hand was done, the only thing he had left was fear. The fear that his partner was dead, and he hadn't been there for her, and she'd died alone with strangers.

He picked up the pace and started to run.

I'm coming, Zero. I made you a promise.

/

Late in the evening when Boone finally reached camp, his feet aching and his heart heavy with fear, he found the medic washing black stuff off his hands in the stream. Boone paused to talk to him.

"What's that?" Boone asked, pointing at the medic's black hands. The blonde man frowned at him.

"Your girlfriend had black stuff in her hair..." he said, scrubbing under his nails. "It started coming off as we washed the blood off her... we didn't know what it was, so we rinsed it all off to be safe. We think it was a dye of some kind."

"But she's... she's okay, right?" he asked breathlessly, trying to swallow the lump that had come up in his throat. He didn't even care that the medic had called Zero his girlfriend. That didn't seem very important at the moment.

"She still alive," the man said shortly. "Gave her some medicine to help her sleep... she's still out right now. We'll see if she wakes up."

The lump in Boone's throat wouldn't go down. He tried to swallow it again, but he might as well have been trying to swallow a brick.

She needs me, my partner needs me.

"Where is she? Can I see her?"

"If you can keep a lid on the threats," the medic snapped, gesturing over his shoulder. "We didn't move her."

When the sniper reached the tent Zero was in, he froze. If he went in there and she was awake, what would he say to her? Please don't leave me, I can't be on my own anymore? That sounded pathetic even in his head.

He reached up, taking off his beret and stowing it in his pocket. He smiled faintly at the memory of Zero asking him if he ever took his beret off...

Well, I'll take it off for you, partner. Just this once, though.

The sniper sighed, picking at the scabby mess on his injured hand until blood started trickling down his wrist. He still couldn't decide what he was going to say... But no matter how awkward this was going to be, he had to go in and talk to her. He pushed his way inside.

The tent was empty except for Zero, lying on her back in a lonely cot. Most of her clothes and weapons were piled on the ground next to her, and her body was wrapped tightly in a blanket. Only her arms, shoulders, and head were outside the blanket. A long line of stitches stretched from just above her breast all the way to her shoulder blade.

Her arm was hanging limply over the side of the cot, her fingers brushing the ground.

But what really stood out was her hair... The medic had been right. The black stuff in her hair must have been dye. Because now... now he knew what she was hiding. Zero's hood had been removed along with the rest of her clothes, and her pure white hair was tumbling over the side of the cot like a waterfall woven from moonlight.

Her black hair had been fake. She'd put dye in it, made it that color on purpose... So that was why she'd always needed so much privacy.

Why are you so white, Zero? What happened? If you weren't born this way... what happened to you?

Boone sat down in the dirt by her side. Could he wake her up? He reached out to pick up her arm, briefly feeling for her pulse in her wrist. Satisfied that her heart was still beating, he placed her cold arm back by her side.

He couldn't help himself... He reached out, softly stroking that white skin. Zero didn't respond.

Come on, partner... don't leave me hanging. You know I'll get my ass handed to me without you, right?

The sun had gone all the way down... he hadn't realized he'd been sitting there that long. Fires were being lit outside, throwing shadows all through the inside of the tent.

"Mmm," Zero moaned softly, her head lolling on the cot. Her odd eyes fluttered open. She looked around for a few seconds, her gaze finally landing on the ex-soldier sitting on the ground next to her. Her mouth began turning up into a smile... that was until her eyes flitted to her white hair lying on the cot next to her.

Boone could see the panic in her eyes the instant she saw it... her disguise had been ripped away.

"Hey," Boone said softly, hoping that he sounded reassuring.

"Hi," Zero said faintly.

"So, how are you feel-" Boone began, but Zero cut him off.

"Are you... okay?" Zero said, staring up at the ceiling, her fingers twitching by her sides. "You never answered me before."

Boone rolled his eyes. Apparently she felt good enough to harass him about how he was feeling. He decided to keep his numb hand to himself for the moment, though.

"I'm fine..." he began, trying to keep the exasperation out of his voice. "You scared me, you know. I thought you were dead."

Zero's bottom lip quivered. She glanced at him, and he knew... almost being dead wasn't what she was upset about.

"Listen... could you give me a minute?" she asked faintly. She'd spotted her belongings on the ground. Her white hand began reaching for them, weakly grabbing for her hood. Boone saw a flash of pain in her face. Her shoulder was obviously hurting her.

"Hey, relax..." Boone said, frowning. Carefully, he reached for her roaming hand, picking it up and placing it swiftly back by her side. "Look... it's fine. I don't care what color your hair is, okay?"

"I care," Zero whispered. "I don't like looking even more like a freak than I normally do."

Boone sighed. Zero's pale arm was twitching like she still wanted to reach for her clothes.

"You're not a freak," he said slowly. Zero laughed lightly.

"Come on," she mumbled, using her good hand to stuff her long, white hair out of sight underneath her head and neck. She flinched as she did so. "You know what people say about me. Just... let me have my hood. Please."

When he made no move to give her the hood, Zero started to sit up. She let out a pained gasp as she moved, trying to hold the blanket to her chest with her good hand.

"Would you stop?" Boone insisted, putting his numb hand around her back, slowly easing her back down onto the cot. He could feel her shaking... "You lost a lot of blood... you'll hurt yourself."

Zero glared at him, turning away from him so that her face was shrouded in shadow.

Boone didn't know what to do. He'd never seen her like this before... sad and depressed. He'd never imagined that she cared so much about what he thought of her...

"You want to tell me what happened?" he said eventually. For a minute he thought she might have passed out again, but her fingers had curled into a tiny fist. "We'd make a better team that way," he added reasonably.

Zero's mouth twitched as she glanced back at him. She said nothing, giving Boone way too much time to take in her new appearance. Now that her hair had been stripped of its black dye, she shone as bright and clear as the full moon. The shadows in the tent were only making her skin and hair seem even brighter.

"I don't see why you'd want to know..." she sighed. "Knowing won't change anything."

Boone shrugged.

"It's not about that. I just want to know you," he said gently.

Zero still looked skeptical... She tried reaching for her things one more time, but once again Boone intervened. Zero's hand slapped against his numb fingers. Since she seemed so determined to move her hand, Boone decided to hold it still... He forced most of his unfeeling fingers to close around her hand.

That surprised her. Zero looked up at him, a strange expression on her face. Boone couldn't pin down the emotion in her eyes...

"You'd be the first," she said lightly. "But... if you insist..."

"Only if you want to," Boone said firmly. He would have been happy with just her name, but he couldn't deny he wanted to know more. Maybe now wasn't the time to be asking, but since she'd already said yes...

"It's okay," she said softly. "I guess you deserve to know."

She looked away, back up at the ceiling, seemingly pondering how to start.

The sniper was content to just sit there and wait, her cold hand still resting in his. She'd never stayed in physical contact with him for so long...

Finally she looked back at him, a strange glint in her her blue eye, just like the night before. Glowing in the darkness like this, she seemed more unreal than ever.

"Well, since it's night time... want to hear a ghost story?" she asked casually, but Boone could feel her fingers twitching in his.

"Sure?" the sniper said, a little thrown off. But he could tell this was important to her.

"Oh, you'll love this one... this is a ghost story told by villagers up in the North West, beyond Jacobstown," she began softly. "It takes place in a lonely town, covered in mist."

She took a deep breath.

"One day, in that misty village by the river, a young girl was kidnapped by Fiends," Zero said in a slightly shaky voice. "The villagers said you could hear her screams from all the way across the water... the Friends tortured her until she died. No one from the village tried to help her."

Fiends... Boone thought furiously to himself. He should have known. Those were the people who scared her, the people who had hurt her.

"So when she was dead, the Fiends tossed her body in the river," she whispered. She blinked her odd eyes at him, a sad little smile on her pale face. "Except she wasn't exactly dead."

Boone said nothing, but he could feel Zero's fingers unconsciously tightening around his.

"The undead child, the ghost child, she rose from the river to take revenge on the people who abandoned her," Zero continued, like she had no choice but to keep talking. "The villagers said you had to be careful who you talked to, you never knew if that person might be the undead child in disguise."

Boone glanced at Zero's hood. The undead child in disguise...

"But the ghost mostly stayed by the river," she said faintly. "If you believe the stories, if you went down to the river at night and you came across the ghost... well, she'd pull you into the river, dragging you down to join her in a watery grave."

Zero gave a soft little laugh. She was squeezing his numb hand so tightly at this point, some feeling was actually starting to come back into that hand.

Then he remembered something else. The river... Zero had sketched out the river, the place where she'd died...

"The child's spirit was eventually put to rest, but the villagers claim that on calm nights, you can still hear her dying screams..." she paused then, tears welling up in her eyes. "I know I still can."

She fell silent then, and a few minutes later, tears were dripping down her porcelain cheeks.

"I don't know what the Fiends did to me, but ever since that day I was thrown in the river... I've looked like this," she said apologetically, like it was her fault.

Tears were getting lost in her hair. Boone managed to give her hand a little squeeze, and she glanced down at their clasped hands like she'd never seen anything like it before. Seemingly with what strength she had in her at the moment, she raised his numb hand to her wet cheek.

"I..." Boone began, completely stunned. She was willingly letting him touch some part of her other than her hand... almost like she trusted him.

"Look, just pretend like you care for a second, okay?" she whispered into his hand.

I don't think I have to pretend, Boone thought to himself, his heart in his throat.

Boone finally convinced his fingers to move, carefully caressing her tear stained cheek.

He stared at Zero's pale skin. What had the Fiends done to her to make her look like this? He wanted to ask what she remembered, but Zero was already silently crying into his hand. There was no way he could ask now.

His fingers brushed her neck and she jumped.

"Sorry."

"It's fine. I'm sorry I'm so jumpy... It's just... in my experience, people only touch me when they want to hurt me," she whispered into his hand.

"Well, I don't," Boone said bluntly. "Never would. Alright?"

I want to stay with you. If superstitious weirdos want to call you a ghost... whatever. You're not a ghost. You're real, I can touch you, feel you...

Six years alone... Zero had spent six years alone. This was why. She'd been an outcast. People had been afraid of her, thought she was some kind of monster... The sniper felt his heart sinking into his gut.

"Thanks," Zero said eventually, closing her eyes like she was enjoying the feeling of his hand on her cheek. Boone's heart rose again... "So, you wanted to know my name, right?"

Boone nodded.

"Yeah."

Zero sighed, tilting her face into his hand.

"It's Fay." She whispered her own name like it was the name of a friend she'd lost a long time ago. "Fay Morgan."

"Fay," Boone repeated slowly. "That's... a nice name. Mind if I call you that?"

The girl graced him with a blindingly white smile, a warm glow in her blue eye.

"I don't think I'd hold it against you."

Boone grinned, happy that they'd come this far together, but more than anything he was just glad to have his partner back. He was about to tell her that, but he was distracted when Fay began tickling his numb hand.

"By the way," she mumbled, glancing down at his injured hand. "What did you do to your hand?"

Boone chuckled. She was observant, that was for sure.

"Oh, well... a bullet went through it," he said casually, trying to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal. He flexed his numb fingers, briefly letting go of Fay's hand. There was actually some decent feeling in them now. Not nearly as good as his other hand, but it was better than before.

Fay rolled her watery eyes.

"Typical," she teased him softly. "I can't leave you alone for a minute, can I?"

"Heh," Boone said with a grin, still flexing his hand. "Guess not."

They fell silent then, sitting together side by side in the darkness. Though her story weighed heavily on him, Boone was grateful he'd heard it. Because now he understood so much more about her. He understood why she hid her face and dyed her hair. He understood why she tried so hard to please people in the hopes that one day she'd be accepted and fit in...

"Can I ask you something?"

Fay glanced at him and nodded.

"Sure."

"Why did you want me to come with you?" he asked. He hadn't realized how much that one question had been pressing on his mind until the words burst from his mouth.

Fay looked puzzled, like she was sure he must have figured that out by now.

"As soon as I met you, I knew you," she said, tilting her head to one side as she observed him. "I could see it in your face... you felt just like I did. Like you had no purpose, no reason to live... and I thought that maybe... maybe I could help you."

"Well, you did, so... thanks," he said, squeezing her hand. That made her smile, and brought a light back to her golden eye.

"You're welcome," she said lightly. "You put up one heck of a struggle though, partner. You didn't make it easy on me."

"Me?" Boone said incredulously. "What about you? You wouldn't tell me anything."

Fay giggled, her head lolling in a cloud of her hair.

"I would have," she promised. "Eventually."

"I hate waiting."

The girl rolled her eyes, her amused smirk sending a pleasant shiver down the man's spine.

A few seconds later, the medic came back to give Zero another dose of medicine. Fay had looked at him, uncertainty in her gaze. Boone knew that she wasn't happy with the idea of being knocked out and not able to wake up.

"I'll be here," he promised. The uneasiness in her eyes faded.

"Okay."

She held out an arm, allowing the medic to administer more sleeping medicine. Fay stared at him with her eyes half closed as the drug took hold of her.

"You look funny without your beret," she whispered as she finally drifted off.

Boone snorted, even though she couldn't hear him anymore.

"Thanks," he said sarcastically.

Boone placed his beret back on his head, watching as the medic began wrapping Fay's shoulder.

He never thought he'd encounter a group he hated as much as the Legion, but he had to admit, as he thought of the Fiends... that burning hatred was there in his chest.

Those Fiends had hurt his partner. They'd tortured her and then dumped her in a river, leaving her for dead. They deserved to die, too. They deserved a taste of their own medicine..

Is this really my purpose? He thought as blood lust fought with common sense. Is killing really my only purpose? Is that all protecting someone means?

He dug into his pocket, pulling out Fay's coin once more.

Fay said I could choose my own path, but this is all I know. What else can I choose? Death and blood is all I know... I'm sorry, Fay, but if I get the chance... If I ever figure out where those Fiends who hurt you are hiding... They're as good as dead.

Once the medic had gone, Boone carefully tucked the blanket around his unconscious companion. He settled himself on an open cot, lying on his back and staring at the shadows playing in the darkness.

When he finally drifted off, he dreamed of a lovely spirit in a river. The spirit pulled him into her embrace, dragging him down into the watery depths...

And in the water, he came alive.


	8. Chapter 8

Boone got a very rude awakening the next day. Someone was roughly shaking him awake. His eyes snapped open to see another trooper staring him down.

"What the hell do you want?" Boone mumbled as he sat up, his hand automatically groping for his rifle. Then he remembered Fay was in here, likely in her underwear under that blanket. "Get the fuck out of here."

"Urgent orders from the Colonel!" the trooper said, backing up out of Boone's reach. "You are to leave the camp immediately with your companion!"

That made the sniper pause. Why the hell were they being kicked out?

"Why?" Boone growled.

"The Legion is already preparing another strike on this camp, it could be here at any time! The Rangers have arrived to strengthen our defenses, but the Colonel wishes you both out of harm's way," the trooper all but shouted. Then he fidgeted uncomfortably. "The Colonel also said to remind you of your promise."

Boone grumbled, having completely forgotten his promise to James Hsu. He'd promised that he would protect Fay... How could he assure himself of her safety when she was injured like she was?

"He must be crazy," Boone growled under his breath. "How am I supposed to move her? She's been seriously injured!"

The trooper shrugged nervously.

"You'll have to figure it out. It's the Colonel's orders," he said. "You are to take your companion to safety immediately." And with that, he turned and ran back out of the tent.

Boone looked over to see a pair of wide, mismatched eyes staring at him from across the room, framed with locks of silvery white hair. He still wasn't used to that white hair...

"Feeling alright?" he asked, trying to avert his eyes and failing.

"Better than yesterday," she answered, a small smile on her face. Boone nodded. That was good, she'd need all the energy she could get.

Fuck... He ran a hand over his scruffy cheek. He definitely needed a shave, but it looked like there would be no time for that now. If they were leaving today, they needed to resupply, they needed water and food, and he was running low on bullets...

"Be right back," he said shortly, bolting across the room.

"Wait!" Fay shouted weakly after him, wincing as she tried to sit up. "I, um... need some help with my clothes."

Boone paused, his heart racing. The blanket was starting to fall as she was trying to hold it up over her breasts, revealing some of the perfect snowy white skin of her chest. She was skinny, he could see her ribs. Boone swallowed hard. He was not ready to see her undressed...

"I'll get you some help," he said swiftly, tearing his eyes away from that pale skin and slipping outside.

The sniper nearly ran over someone as he stepped outside. It was that woman again... the woman Fay had been trying to help after the battle. Actually, now that he thought about it, this woman might have been the same woman she'd been trying to comfort as soon as they'd gotten here...

"Sir," the woman said breathlessly. "She... the girl... she's still alive?"

"Yeah," Boone said uncomfortably. "She is."

"May I see her, Sir?" the woman asked, staring him down with wide eyes. "The girl, she saved me. I wish to thank her."

"Yeah, sure..." Boone said slowly, hoping Fay wouldn't mind. "Could you help her get dressed too?"

"Of course!" the woman said eagerly. She beamed at him fondly. "She is a lovely girl. You are very lucky!"

The woman swept inside, startling the hell out of Fay. The pale girl had been trying to get out of bed, and she'd let the blanket fall away from her chest as she reached for her undershirt... And as the cloth door of the tent fell shut, the ex-soldier caught a glimpse of more than he'd bargained for.

Lucky, Boone thought as his heart pounded like it was trying to escape from its bony cage. Well... I guess that's one word for it.

I think I'm doomed.

The sniper staggered off, rubbing sleep scum out of his eyes, blinking in the sunlight. Supplies, he told himself. Just focus on that. Don't think about what you just saw... Don't think about that beautiful body... Just don't think about it. But he couldn't help himself, he kept picturing what he'd seen in his head until he felt sick with longing.

I guess there really was a doom out here for me after all. Except... it wasn't at all what I thought it would be. I don't think I could leave her now even if I wanted to.

Bitter Springs didn't have much in the way of supplies, but Boone was able to secure some food and water for the two of them. By the time he'd managed to talk his way into some bullets and got back to the tent, Fay was sitting up, fully dressed and waiting for him.

"Are you sure we can't stay and help?" Fay asked him plaintively as Boone gathered up their things.

He'd promised the Colonel he'd keep Fay safe... he couldn't ensure her safety here, not if the Legion was so determined to take her out while she was at this camp. They'd have a better chance if they disappeared into the desert. Two people could hide out there in the sands...

"I'm sure," he said shortly.

"Oh, you used to be fun!" Fay pouted at him. Boone snorted as he shouldered his and Fay's pack. She was in no shape to carry a pack.

"Yeah, that's me... 'Fun' is my middle name," he said sarcastically.

Fay pouted some more. Boone rolled his eyes.

"Can you stand?" he asked as gently as he could.

"Yeah, I think so," she said. She was dressed in her combat pants, shirt and boots, but most of her armor had been squeezed into her pack, and her arm was in a sling. Her hood was back in its usual place on her head, hiding her white hair.

She tried to stand, flinching as she did so. She glanced at him.

"Can you help me?" she asked faintly. "I feel dizzy."

Boone silently held out a hand. Fay placed her slim, white hand in his and he helped her to her feet. She shook slightly, but she managed to stand without fainting.

"I got some medicine and stuff for you," Boone grunted, avoiding her eyes. "In case you need it."

"It's fine," she said quietly. "I've been injured before and had to go on by myself. I can handle it."

He hoped she was right. If she couldn't go on, he didn't know what he'd do. He only knew that he couldn't leave her behind. They began making their way out of camp, Fay still clinging to his hand. Troopers saluted them as they passed.

"You care to tell me why the Legion made a second trip out here just for you?" Boone mumbled as he helped Fay stagger over some rough terrain.

"Did they?" Fay murmured, her golden eye glancing over his face. But she didn't sound too surprised.

"Yeah. I overhead them talking about it."

"Oh..." his partner said faintly. "Well, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

Boone sighed.

"Funny," he said shortly. "So what'd you do to piss 'em off?"

Fay gave him an exasperated look.

"I already told you, Legionnaires killed my friends," she hissed through her teeth as she stumbled. Boone carefully placed an arm around her back, helping her to stay upright. "And they need to pay for that. I guess Caesar has some objection."

"Your friends... NCR soldiers, you mean?"

"Yes," she managed, her pained gaze passing over him. "There were five of them: Aaron, Mark, Luis, Joey, and Will... They saved my life, they were kind to me when no else was, and the Legion killed them one day when they were out on patrol. That didn't exactly make me happy, you know?"

Boone could definitely relate to that... Fay stumbled to a halt seemingly to catch her breath, but then she began digging in her pocket. She shoved a folded photograph into his hand.

He opened up the faded photograph to see a group of soldiers crowded around a tiny girl who was attempting to hide from the camera. They all seemed pretty young, they were all wearing goofy smiles as they had obviously edged Fay into the center of the group.

"That's Will," Fay said, pointing to a young man who had obviously been photographed while in mid-laugh. He seemed to be the most jovial one of the group. Boone nodded.

"They were the only friends I had... They never saw me as a freak," she murmured, twirling a stray lock of hair around her finger. Boone sighed, unsure of how to address that statement. Even he had been unnerved by her appearance at first, until he'd gotten used to her.

"How long ago was this taken?" he asked, handing the photograph back to her.

"Oh... about five years ago," she muttered. "I've split my time between delivering packages and killing Legionnaires since then, until I retired from being a courier."

Boone said nothing. For a teenager to begin such a heartfelt vendetta and actually stick to it was a pretty serious venture. Those soldiers must have made quite the impression on her...

"I keep hoping that Will's still alive, but I've been looking for so long, and Lieutenant Boyd tells me to stop asking about him," she said bitterly. "So I've just been killing people all these years. Didn't have much else to live for..."

She glanced at him, her bitter expression softening a little bit.

"That is... until I met you," she said, some of her usual insane cheerfulness back in her voice.

She gave the picture a little smile before tucking it back in her pocket.

"You remind me of Will, you know," she said softly. "You have something in you that's good, something unbreakable."

Boone's heart skipped a beat. No one had ever said anything like that about him... Not even Carla. But Carla hadn't known about everything he'd done, so again, it wasn't a fair comparison. If he had told Carla he'd done... would she have loved him just the same? Would she say he was unbreakable?

He felt strangely honored. Fay had basically just told him that she valued him just as much as she did Will. She thought he was just as good, just as worthy of her time and attention.

He helped Fay clamber over a ledge.

"Still doesn't explain why those assholes have it out for you so bad," Boone commented. "A lot of people hate the Legion. Why do they have it in for you especially?"

Fay gave him a guilty smile as she gripped his hand, climbing unsteadily down to join him on lower ground.

"I don't think they did until recently. See, maybe two months before I met you... I _may_ have destroyed Cottonwood Cove," she said softly.

Boone stopped dead, his hand tightening around Fay's fingers. The girl raised an eyebrow at him.

"You alright?"

"You... destroyed Cottonwood Cove? How the hell did I not hear about this?" he said in a strangled voice, all kinds of conflicting emotions threatening to surface in his mind.

Fay gave him a funny look from under her hood. Her gold eye flashed like it was actually made of that precious metal.

"I don't know?" she said curiously. "You didn't ask?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" he managed.

"Oh, I kill a lot of people, you know how it is," she said airily, like she was commenting on the weather. "I guess I didn't feel like those assholes deserved a special mention."

"But, you... how did you...?"

At this point, Fay was looking at him like she was worried he'd lost his mind.

"It was easy. A little reconnaissance, a little stealth, some skill with a lock pick..." she said, a hint of pride in her voice. "I dumped a ton of toxic chemicals into the place. Killed everyone in the camp. They really shouldn't have set up shop right underneath a truck full of radioactive waste."

Boone didn't think his respect for Fay could be any higher, but he was wrong. She'd done what he'd only dreamed about... She had wiped out that evil place, destroyed the biggest Legion camp west of the Colorado River. His only wish now was that he'd been there to see it...

Those emotions he'd been trying to suppress were rising in his chest, threatening to spill out. There were so many he didn't even know which to try and process first, if he even could process any of them at the moment.

"You seriously look like you're going to pass out," Fay said, the concern evident in her voice now. "Please don't, I can't carry you."

What can I do to repay you? Boone wondered. Can I ever repay you for what you've done for me?

Fay's tiny, white hand touched his shoulder as she held herself steady. Her bright eyes peered at him from under her hood.

"Can you please say something? Are you mad at me?"

That spurred him into speech.

"Mad at you?" he managed to choke out. "Fuck no."

You are so goddamn beautiful, every single part of you. How can I be mad?

And no one ordered you to eliminate that camp, did they? You did it because you thought it was the right thing to do...

Boone knew what he had to do now. He had to take out the Fiends who had hurt Fay. She deserved justice. Whether she knew it or not, Fay had given Carla the justice she deserved. This girl standing in front of him should have the same thing. She'd earned it. And he'd be the one to get it for her.

"Then what's wrong?"

Boone let out a strangled laugh. If Fay hadn't been wounded, he would have pulled her into the biggest bear hug he could manage. Although she probably would have punched him in the jaw for that.

"I don't think I could ask for a better partner," Boone said slowly. Fay looked confused. She pushed loose pieces of starlight hair out of her eyes so she could see him better.

"Yeah? That's a good thing, right?"

"I'll pay you back one day, Fay," Boone said seriously. "I swear it."

"Okay?" she said curiously. "I guess I'll take that?"

She didn't know... Fay didn't know what this meant to him. Come to think of it, he'd never mentioned to her that Carla had been taken to Cottonwood Cove. But he couldn't explain right now, he just knew he had to repay her somehow.

One day soon... I'll pay you back. I promise I'll get you justice, too. Those Fiends who hurt you are going to pay with their lives. I don't care how far I have to go, how many lives I have to take... They'll pay for what they did to you.

And then you can go West, and you won't have to be afraid anymore.

But for now, we need to get you someplace safe to heal. Preferably someplace close, I don't want to push you too hard right now. But if the Legion has it out for you that badly... where can you really be safe?

He'd have to think about that...

"Come on, let's get going. We've got to get somewhere safe for now," he said firmly. He held out an arm. "Lean on me, alright?"

"Okay."

When Fay touched his arm to keep herself steady, Boone felt his body flooding with new emotion, something he hadn't felt in a long time...

"Wait," she whispered, looking off into the distance. "Raiders, see?"

Boone peered out and saw what she was seeing... maybe four marauders, obviously trying to set up an ambush for what they perceived to be an easy target.

"Stand behind me," the sniper ordered firmly, pulling out his rifle. He flexed his numb hand, forcing it to work the way he wanted it to.

Fay sighed and sat down on a rock behind him, sliding her pistol into her hand.

"I'm not helpless," she whispered. "Get them close, and they won't know what hit them. No one plays dead quite like I do."

Boone couldn't help it, he grinned as he looked down his scope.

"Now that I'd pay to see."

"Oh yeah?" Fay murmured happily. "What would you pay me?"

Boone glanced back at her, but her face was hidden inside her hood. In that one moment, he wanted to rip her hood off, to see all of her pretty, pale face...

You don't have to hide from me. I'd pay any amount just to see your face.

"Anything."


	9. Chapter 9

Miles into their hike back to civilization, Boone was looking over at his partner with concern. She wasn't looking so good... It was hard to tell with how white her skin was normally, but she just seemed like she'd been drained dry.

Even with only one working arm, she was a deadly assassin. Anything or anyone that challenged her usually didn't live long enough to regret their decision. Except now he was worried she'd pushed herself too hard when she wasn't ready.

"Sit down," he ordered firmly. Fay sat down without so much as a sarcastic protest, which clued him in as to how bad she must have been feeling. "I'm just going to check your shoulder, alright?"

He reached out, carefully pushing back the collar of her dark shirt. Her bandages were bright red.

"Fuck," Boone growled. "Your stitches are ripping..."

"Oh," Fay said faintly. "Great."

Boone squinted out over the wasteland. Where could they go? What was close? He checked Fay's Pip-boy while she stared vaguely off into the distance. Freeside was just a few miles away. Good, Fay was friends with the Followers, and they had some of the best doctors around.

"That doctor in Freeside... she'll help you, right?" Boone asked, helping Fay to stand.

"Yeah... she should. Julie's really nice," his partner answered, but then she grimaced in pain, holding her bad arm to her chest. She glanced over at him, but it seemed like she was having trouble focusing on his face. If he hadn't known she was in pain, he would have said she was drunk.

"Stay with me," Boone found himself saying, imagining her dropping dead right next to him. He'd carry her before he'd let that happen.

Fay blinked at him, tilting her head to one side.

"Where else would I be?" she asked softly.

That's not what I meant, but I'll take it.

Just a mile from Freeside, Fay's strength finally gave out. Her steps slowed until she came to complete stop.

"Hey, hey..." Boone said urgently as he tried to keep her upright, but she was already going down.

"I can make it, relax," she murmured as she sank to her knees. "You worry too much."

"You're going to bleed out, those stitches aren't holding up," the sniper said, his voice tight with anxiety. They'd left too soon, she hadn't had nearly enough recovery time before she'd been forced to move again.

"No, no..." she said faintly. "I'm fine."

The stain on her bandages had spread and blood was soaking into her clothes. She'd lost too much blood already...

Boone ran a hand over his scruffy cheek, trying to repress an exasperated groan. He knew what he had to do, but Fay was going to hate him for it.

"Fuck it," he spat, scooping the small girl up in his arms, cradling her against his broad chest. Her mismatched eyes widened in shock. No doubt no one had held her so close in a long time.

"What are you doing?" she said in a strangled voice, pressing her hand to his chest to try and put distance between them. "Put me down!"

"Not a chance in hell," he snarled as he carried his wounded partner as fast as he could make himself go. "You can beat me up later, but you're going to see that doctor first!"

Apparently Fay was too exhausted to complain much more, because she fell silent then, resting her head against his chest. But he could still see the fear in her eyes.

Come on, don't be afraid of me. Please?

But he couldn't put her down. He had to get her to that doctor.

By the time Boone had gotten them to Freeside, his energy was almost gone and he was beginning to shake with fatigue. Pure adrenaline was the only thing keeping him going. He crashed through the gate to the fort, sucking in shuddering breaths.

Fay was barely conscious in his arms. Her blood was beginning to stain his clothes as well.

"Ugh," she moaned, looking around blearily. "Where's Julie?"

"Hey, I need help," Boone gasped at the nearest doctor. "My partner's bleeding out!"

"Zero!" came a voice from behind him. He spun around to see Julie Farkas dashing towards them, her white coat flying. "Oh! What happened?!" the doctor asked him when she got close enough, taking Fay's injury with wide eyes.

"Hi, Julie," Fay said faintly, her head lolling. "Sorry I didn't bring you anything..."

Julie ignored her.

"She's wounded. How much to fix her up?" Boone demanded. The doctor waved aside his question.

"No charge for Zero," she said firmly. "Set her down in there."

Boone wondered if Julie Farkas somehow knew about Fay's mental trauma, since she'd ask him to place Fay in an empty tent. The sniper set his partner on a cot. Fay flopped out on the cot like a rag doll.

"Arcade!" Julie called over her shoulder as she followed him inside. "Going to need assistance!"

"Coming," said a blonde man in glasses. He swept past Boone and up to Julie's side.

The two doctors got to work as Boone stood by and watched anxiously, his hands curled into fists. Julie removed Fay's sling, shirt, and bloody bandages, examining the torn stitches.

"These should have held..." Julie murmured as she carefully undid the medic's work. "Arcade, I'm going to need some stimpaks and Med-X," she ordered the blonde man. Arcade rushed out. Then she glared over her shoulder at Boone.

"She shouldn't have been out there like this," she snapped. "These stitches would have been fine if she'd just been allowed time to rest!"

Boone's temper flared up.

"I didn't have any choice!" he barked back, baring his teeth. He would have said more, but Fay's sweet voice interrupted him.

"It's not his fault," Fay murmured, her odd eyes attempting to focus on Julie. Then her gaze drifted to Boone. "Can you fix his hand?" she asked. "I'd do it myself, but..."

Julie's irritated expression faded. Arcade had come back, depositing supplies by Julie's side. While Julie began threading a tiny curved needle, Arcade administered stimpaks and Med-X.

"Arcade?" she said authoritatively. "Can you take care of this man's hand, please?"

"Yeah, sure," the blonde man said easily. He held out his own hand to Boone. "Alright, let's see it."

Boone reluctantly let Arcade examine his mangled, numb hand.

"Well, that's not so bad," Arcade commented before beginning to disinfect and stitch the wound. After a minute, Arcade paused in his stitching to steal another look at Fay's exposed white skin.

"Zero's fascinating," Arcade said happily as he stitched up the hole in Boone's hand. "I think I have it now, what happened to her skin and hair."

"What's that?" Boone asked, curious despite himself.

"Well, based on what she's told Julie, her appearance isn't natural, right? And all her blood work came back normal. So really, the only explanation is that Zero must have been exposed to something out there in the Wasteland," Arcade rambled off excitedly. "Whatever it was must have destroyed all the pigments in her skin, and somehow didn't kill her! Crazy, huh?"

Boone bit down on the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood. 'Crazy' probably wouldn't have been the word he'd use to describe it. Sick, twisted, evil... yeah, that was more like it.

"Do me a favor and don't talk about her like she's not here," Boone growled. "She's a person, not a... not a thing."

Arcade raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sorry, didn't mean it that way," the blonde man said slowly. "I get so wrapped up in my research sometimes... It's just such an interesting case, probably unique."

Boone simply grunted in response, allowing the man to finish closing up the hole in his hand. Arcade returned to Julie's side to lend assistance.

"Well, this might take a while..." Julie sighed from next to Fay. "She's more torn up on the inside than I thought... the blade must have been serrated."

"You can fix it, right?" Boone said sharply, flexing his newly repaired hand.

"Yes, it'll just take some time," the doctor said tiredly. She spared Boone a brief glance before going back to Fay's shoulder. "You should go eat and clean yourself up, you look terrible."

When Boone didn't move, Julie heaved another huge sigh.

"I'll call you if things take a turn for the worst, but I promise, she's going to be fine," the doctor said firmly. "Besides, if you don't get some water in you, you might drop dead from dehydration."

Well, the doctor was right about that. Boone tried to catch Fay's eye, but her face was hidden inside her hood.

"Go on," Fay whispered. Boone could just see her white lips as they moved. "Go eat. I'm fine."

"I'll be right back," he said gently.

Boone took one last look at Fay before heeding the doctor's words and going to find himself some food and water. Some people, noticing his 1st Recon beret, tried to approach him, but after seeing the look on his face they quickly veered away.

He even found an old mirror so he could give himself a shave. And he had to admit, as he looked at his reflection now... He looked younger, healthier than he had three months ago, despite the obvious stressed out look on his face.

But try and he might, he couldn't get Fay's blood out of his shirt. That large reddish brown stain refused to budge, making it look as if he'd been shot in the heart. Which, after he considered the matter, seemed oddly appropriate. He stopped trying to wash out the stain and went to check on Fay.

He quietly crept back into the tent. Julie was still hard at work, her face screwed up in concentration.

"Hey," Boone said quietly. The doctor turned her head slightly to look at him. Fay, it seemed, had already passed out. "Can I sit in here?"

Julie nodded. Boone sat down on the other side of Fay's cot. He hated this, he hated seeing her suffer. In his heart, he still wished he could have taken that injury for her.

"It's good that you're here," Julie said, still focused on her work. "What happened, anyway?"

"Battle with the Legion," Boone replied slowly, his eyes still on Fay's pale face. "She... she got hurt trying to protect civilians."

A sad little smile crept over Julie's face.

"That sounds like Zero," she said simply. "She's such a sweetheart. I wouldn't expect anything less."

Yeah... she is, Boone thought, trying not to get all emotional in front of a stranger. She's a deadly assassin with a big heart. An angel with blood on her hands. My kind of girl.

It took hours for the the doctor to finally finish her work with Boone waiting patiently on the sidelines. It was dark out by the time Julie was done. Boone carefully helped her dress Fay in an old T-shirt that was way too big for her. When that was done, Fay curled up on her side to keep sleeping and Julie went to wash up.

To pass the time, Boone got out Fay's coin, tossing it in the air and catching it methodically. Fay had been right, the damn thing did force him to think, to reconsider some of his choices.

My choices haven't always been the best, Boone thought, absently flipping the coin between his rough fingers. But I want to keep my partner safe, and not just because I promised the Colonel. You kicked the hornet's nest, Fay, and if you stay here, the Legion will eventually find you. How could I live with myself knowing that I let that happen?

He had to take her to safety. No way was his partner going to end up dead or made into some Legion soldier's play thing.

The only problem was that the safest place to hide from the Legion was to the West, deep in NCR territory. And Fay refused to travel that way. Fortunately that could be fixed, he just had to take out those Fiends...

But then it started to sink in what taking Fay to safety would mean. If he took her West, and he somehow convinced her to stay put, then he'd have the choice to either stay with her, or come back to the Mojave.

Which side will you choose? Will you choose to stay with her out West, or will you choose to keep pursuing your bitter revenge?

He let out a low groan, burying his face in his hands. He knew exactly what side he wanted to choose, but could he give up on trying to avenge Carla?

We're a lot alike, Fay... Boone thought sadly to himself, feeling his letter to Carla in his pocket. We both carry our pain around with us. We can't let it go. I guess you knew that as soon as you met me, huh?

"Are you in love with her?" came a voice from behind him. Boone whipped around to see Julie Farkas observing him curiously.

"Why?"

Julie shrugged. She wandered over to check that Fay's new stitches were holding up.

"It's just that when a man watches a woman while she's sleeping, he's either a stalker or he's in love with her," Julie said easily.

Well, I don't think I'm a stalker... Boone thought, his palms sweating. But I can't be in love. I can't be. I mean yeah, I care about her, but...

"No offense, but I don't see how it's any of your business," Boone said gruffly, turning away from the doctor.

"It's not," came Julie's response. "I suppose it's just nice to see. I don't think she believed anyone would ever care for her that way."

Boone clenched his sweaty fists in his lap.

"Yeah... not saying I do, though," he grunted, staring at Fay's white fingers.

Julie laughed softly.

"You don't need to say it," the doctor said quietly. "Zero may be different, but she'll figure it out eventually."

The sniper sighed, listening to the sound of the doctor's footsteps as she walked away. He'd never admit it to the doctor, or to anyone else for that matter, but he did enjoy seeing Fay sleep. She always looked so much more at peace when she was asleep.

Boone could have had his own bed, but he wanted to be close to Fay, just for a little while... He slid closer to her cot, leaning up against it. Fay was curled up on her good side, her face hidden beneath a spray of silvery hair.

Even though he was on the hard ground, the edge of the cot digging into his side, it felt good to be near her. It felt good to sleep close to her for once. The ex-soldier let his head fall forward onto his chest, and soon found himself drifting off.

/

When Boone woke up a few hours later, she was gone.

Thinking she had just gone to use the bathroom, he patiently waited for her to come back. When she hadn't returned after half an hour, he went out to look for her, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Where is she?!" Boone snarled as he accosted the nearest guard he could find.

"Who?" the man squeaked nervously.

"My partner!" he spat, jabbing a finger at the tent they'd been resting in. "She was in that tent a few hours ago, and now she's gone!"

"I... I saw a girl go up to the Western watch tower," the guard said, backing away from the angry ex-soldier. "That might have been her."

Of course, the one place I didn't look, he thought, relief washing through him. He turned and threw open the old wooden door, sprinting up the dark stairs to the top of the tower.

And there she was, standing with her back to him, looking out over New Vegas. The Strip shone like a beacon in the darkness.

But not as brightly as his partner. She'd lowered her hood since she'd been alone, and her long white hair was streaming down her back. She appeared to be cradling her bad arm against her chest.

Despite that giant T-shirt she was wearing, he could still make out the curve of her small hips and waist...

"Hey," he said in a low voice.

Fay jumped and turned to face him, moonlight glinting off her white hair. She'd obviously cleaned herself up, the dirt and blood was gone from her skin and hair.

"Oh, Boone..." she said, a small smile on her face. "You scared me."

"Sorry. What are you doing up here? You should be sleeping."

"Well..." she said slowly, fidgeting awkwardly. "I like it up here. No one's around to stare at me."

Then she blinked, squinting at him in the darkness.

"Why are you all red in the face?" she asked.

"Er..." Boone said, rubbing the back of his neck to give himself an excuse to look away from her. Normal people would have just let that go, but Fay was not normal. "No reason."

Fay rolled her odd eyes.

"If you say so."

Boone came up to stand by her, looking out at the bright city, resting his hands on the rusty railing. Though he didn't want to remember, being near New Vegas always made him think of his late wife. He glanced sideways at Fay, who was contentedly observing the horizon.

"Sunrise is in a little while," Fay said quietly. "Just wanted to see it."

Boone nodded. Sunrise would be nice, but... he was standing next to someone more beautiful than a sunrise. How had it taken him so long to notice?

Then he immediately felt guilty for noticing.

Carla... if you were alone, I'd want you to find someone to be with. Would you want the same thing for me? Or would you hate me for thinking about falling in love again?

No, you wouldn't, would you? I know you loved me too. But that Crawford bitch sold you out... And I had so much more to give you.

I can't help you now, Carla, but... maybe there's someone else I can help. Maybe there's someone willing to take what I have left.

His fingers tightened around the railing as he stared at the back of his partner's head. A chilly wind floated by the tower, sending Fay's freshly washed hair flying into his face.

Boone took a hasty step back. Not because it bothered him, but because of how much he enjoyed it. He couldn't mix grief with joy right now. Fay looked around at him, city lights glittering in her eyes.

"You alright?" she asked curiously. "You're acting kind of... weird."

Boone swallowed hard. Carla's eyes had never seen through him quite like Fay's did.

No... no, I'm not alright. If anything happens to you, I'll never be alright again. You can't stay here, Fay. You have to leave before the Legion gets to you. I'm not making the same mistake twice. Not taking any chances this time.

But how to convince her to go? NCR territory would obviously be the safest place for her, but how could he persuade her to go there and stay put?

"So I wanted to, uh... talk to you about something," he said slowly.

Fay turned her odd eyes back towards him, looking a little surprised. He wasn't normally the one who wanted to talk.

"Must be important," she said softly, brushing her wayward hair behind her ear.

Boone took a deep breath. Small talk wasn't a specialty of his, so he decided to cut right to the chase.

"You have to leave here. You have to go somewhere safe," he said in rush. "You know that, don't you?"

Fay sighed, shaking her hair out of her face. She wasn't able to braid it with only one hand. But she didn't answer him, just looked at him with those mismatched eyes.

"The Legion has it out for you now," Boone said seriously, unconsciously leaning toward her. "You'll never be safe here again."

"I've never been safe anywhere," Fay countered, still fighting with her hair. The wind just wouldn't leave it alone.

"You could be," the sniper murmured, resisting the urge to reach out and touch those lovely starlight locks of hair. "If we went deeper into NCR territory."

Instantly, Fay tensed up, her face becoming closed off. She gave up trying to wrangle her hair, letting the wind toss it around.

"But that's... that's past Fiend territory," Fay said, her voice tight with fear. "Please tell me you're joking."

Boone frowned. He wasn't known for his sense of humor.

"No," he said slowly. "You have to go. Please. For... for me."

The tension faded from her muscles, her expression softening.

"I wouldn't stay," she said gently.

"But..."

Fay shook her head.

"I've tried going West before, and I just... I don't want to go back," she added, obviously embarrassed at what she perceived to be a weakness. "They're still out there, you know, the Fiends... I get scared."

"You don't have to be," Boone growled, a familiar fury rising inside him. "Say the word, and I'll kill those assholes who hurt you. Just show me where to go."

Now Fay looked seriously worried. She stepped forward, putting a hand to his forehead.

"Well, you don't have a fever," she said softly. "So you must be crazy."

Boone huffed in exasperation, jerking his head away from that cold hand.

"I know what I'm doing, alright?" he shot back, a little more harshly that he meant to. Fay flinched away from him. "Look, I don't want to see you get hurt again. And if taking out those Fiends is what it takes to get you to go West... then fine. I'll do it."

His partner still looked worried. But then she regarded him carefully, like she was trying to decide if his offer was genuine.

"Boone... I just don't know," Fay murmured, turning to look back out at the horizon, but Boone could see her shivering. "If they did to you what they did to me, I..."

"You were just a little girl," Boone said in a low voice. "It won't be like that, I promise."

His partner simply bit her lip, not looking at all convinced.

Boone paused, worried he'd already pushed her too hard. But maybe, if she remembered something about where they were hiding... he could go on alone without needing her as a guide, and she could wait here for him.

"What do you remember?" he asked quietly.

The girl wrapped her arms around her skinny torso, hugging her injured arm to her chest.

"Don't," she whispered into the darkness. "I told you, I chose a new path a long time ago. I'm not going back."

"But..."

"I was naked when they through me in the river," she snapped, still holding herself tightly. "Does that help?"

"I..."

"Look, what I remember won't help anything," Fay said, an angry edge to her voice now. "I won't go back there, I can't. Give me a week, and I'll make the Legion regret ever messing with me and my friends."

Boone's heart sank. She wasn't making this easy.

I know you're strong, but you're just one person. You said so yourself. You're not invincible. You may look like a ghost, but you can bleed... and you can die.

But his partner, it seemed, had already had enough of his pushing. She retreated from him then, going to stand as far away as she possibly could, hiding in the shadows.

Oh no, you're not going to hide from me like you hide from everything else.

But gestures of comfort weren't exactly a specialty of his, either. Well, she'd hugged him once when he'd needed it... would she let him comfort her the same way?

Carefully, so he wouldn't spook her, he approached his shivering partner. He held out his muscular arms, slowly embracing the tiny girl. She froze up in his awkward embrace.

"Sorry," he mumbled into her hair. "Shouldn't have asked that..."

It was a long moment before Fay finally relaxed in his arms. The feeling of having his partner being calm and relaxed in his embrace felt so good that Boone momentarily forgot what he was doing. Her white hair was tickling his arm... Boone absently rubbed that long hair between his fingers.

For a split second, he wished they were alone, in bed... he would lay down behind her, pulling her into him, protecting her with his own body. Her soft hair would be tickling his cheek instead of his arm...

"It's okay," she whispered, leaning against his chest, jolting him out of his daydream. "I'm still not leaving though."

"Please," Boone said seriously, forcing himself back into the conversation. "You have to go West. You can't stay here."

"Boone..." Fay began softly. "I know you just want to help, but..."

"Craig," the sniper interrupted quietly.

Fay tilted her head to one side, her hair spilling over her shoulder.

"Sorry?" she said.

"Call me Craig," he said in a low voice, avoiding those bright eyes. He focused instead on his fingers tangled in her white hair.

Fay's hand strayed to his cheek, forcing him to look her in the eye.

"Craig..." she repeated softly. "I will call you whatever you want if you just tell me what's going on with you. I've known for a long time the Legion would be after me one day... why are you so worried about that now?"

Boone cursed and looked away. He wasn't really interested in being interrogated right now. No, all he was interested in at the moment was getting his partner to safety. And if that meant slaughtering Fiends so she wouldn't be afraid... Hell, even better.

But he had to convince her somehow, and nothing he'd said so far was working... He turned to look her dead in the eye. Gold and sapphire blue looked back at him, or rather, right through him...

"I'll tell you why," he growled. "Because I do _not_ want to have a front row seat to watch you fucking die! You got that? I am taking you into NCR territory if I have to carry you there myself!"

Fay's eyes widened and she took a step back from him, breaking away from his awkward embrace. After a moment, she started brushing her hair over her shoulder, hiding her face completely.

Fuck... Boone thought, clenching his fists. You sure do have a way with women, asshole. Way to go and scare her, just when you were getting close to her.

But Fay was apparently wasn't trying to hide from him, she was trying to show him the back of her neck.

"Pick up my hair," she whispered to him. "Please."

Boone complied, taking a handful of that long, white hair, revealing the back of her slender neck. He took a deep breath.

Because there, on the back of her neck, was a strange, irregularly shaped patch of skin. This skin wasn't snowy white like the rest of her, it was normal looking skin.

He couldn't help himself... he reached out, his fingers touching that patch of normal flesh on her neck. Fay shivered slightly.

"What did they do to you?" he murmured. That set his blood boiling again. Here it was, evidence that she'd once been normal, and the Fiends had fucked her up, made her into what she was now.

But she was beautiful to him, no matter what color she was.

"I don't know," she whispered. "But... I've always wanted to find out."

She turned to face him, letting her starlight hair fall about her shoulders. She reached out to touch his face once more, like she was worried he'd disappear.

"So, I still think this is a bad idea," she said hesitantly. "But if this is really that important to you..."

"It is," Boone said, nodding.

"Then, if those Fiends are dead..." she continued, so faintly Boone could barely hear her. "I'll go West. At least until the war is over."

Boone's heart rose so fast he thought he might choke on it.

"And maybe... maybe you can find out what the Fiends did to me," she murmured. "I'd like to know."

Boone nodded.

"Yeah," he said shortly. If he were in her position, he'd want to know, too.

Fay bowed her head, fidgeting where she stood. They'd been arguing for so long, they'd pretty much missed the sunrise Fay had come up here to see. The girl still looked so worried that Boone felt like she needed another dose of comfort, but he wasn't sure if she'd allow it.

"Well... I guess you want to know where we're going?" Fay said eventually.

The sniper nodded once more.

"Yes."

"Yeah..." Fay said quietly, twisting her pale fingers together. "So would I. But unfortunately, I don't know exactly where my home is anymore. Not off the top of my head, anyway."

Boone groaned. Just perfect.

"Your Pip Boy doesn't know?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"It doesn't map the area that far outside of the Mojave. I have bigger maps back in Novac, but..."

She didn't need to complete that sentence. That would take them closer to Legion territory, the exact opposite of what Boone wanted to do. Fay shrugged like that didn't matter.

"You could always ask James, at Camp McCarran," she said quietly. "We could take the monorail there. Besides, the NCR's maps are probably better than mine."

That would work. At least on the monorail, Fay could rest for a little while longer and stay out of the Wasteland.

"Alright," Boone agreed. "We'll go in a few days. _After_ you've had time to recover," he added firmly.

Fay sighed.

"You really are no fun anymore," she complained before looking back out at the sun coming up over the Mojave.

Boone chuckled under his breath.

You're right about that, partner. I've always been a stick in the mud. You can call me that all you want. As long as you're safe, you can make fun of me all you want.

Just let me keep you safe. I know you don't need me to, but I hope you'll let me. I can't lose you now.


	10. Chapter 10

It had taken a full week for Julie to announce that Fay was fit enough to travel. So while they waited, Boone had meticulously refilled their supplies, taking care to make sure he'd gotten enough pain medicine for Fay. He even managed to procure a new black combat shirt for her so she wouldn't have to keep wearing one that was ripped and bloody. The sniper honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd cared so much about anything so mundane...

At long last, they were ready to move out once more.

There had been a tearful goodbye on Julie's part when Fay had admitted that she probably wouldn't be back for a while. But then as they were leaving... Boone saw the doctor beaming at the pair of them through her tears. For a moment he couldn't understand it, and then it hit him.

Julie was glad he was taking her out West. Even if it meant losing Fay as her supplier, Julie was happy to see the two of them together.

Boone glanced sideways at his partner as she swept along beside him, a gleeful look on her white face. She was clearly thrilled to be on the move again. Only walking through Freeside now... She didn't seem as nervous as she had before. True, she was still cradling her bad arm in its sling, but she wasn't speed walking or trying to hide behind him anymore. That seemed odd to him, too.

It's because she trusts you now, idiot. She thinks you'll keep her safe while she's wounded. Don't fuck this up.

She caught him looking at her, and her bright, mismatched eyes raked his face curiously.

"You've been acting really weird all week, you know," she said after a moment.

Thanks for pointing that out, Boone sighed in his head. As if I didn't already know...

"Is something wrong?" she added with what Boone considered to be an inexcusable amount of innocence in her voice. She'd once told him that he was easy to read, and yet somehow... she couldn't figure this out.

"No," Boone said shortly, turning his gaze back to the crumbling pavement. He had to keep an eye out for crazies who might want to jump them. Besides, watching her white lips moving as she spoke was starting to become very distracting.

"Well, if you're sure... You think people out West need a mercenary?" she asked happily, her gold eye flashing in the morning sun. "Bet I could make some good money, don't you think?"

Boone's over protective instincts instantly stirred inside him. He knew what she was capable of, sure... but the thought of his partner selling her skills for money irritated him. She was more that just a hired killer to him... He spent the rest of the walk to the train station quietly arguing with Fay over what she should do once she'd made a home for herself in NCR territory.

Boone suggested she take up hunting, certain it would be a simple task for her. She could kill things and provide at the same time. Fay had looked at him like he was insane, which wasn't exactly reassuring.

"But that'll get boring," she complained, spinning a thin blade between her fingers. A moment later, the knife had left her hand and impaled itself in a big fat rat, which fell dead on the sidewalk. Fay giggled and went to retrieve the blade. "See? Way too easy."

My murderous little princess, Boone sighed to himself. I'll convince you... somehow...

Once they'd arrived at the station, the pair boarded the train, settling themselves as far away as possible from the other passengers. Boone had hoped this car would stay empty for his partner's sake, but no, it quickly filled up. A few soldiers regarded Fay with suspicious glances, which Boone didn't like, but no one said anything to her.

Boone could tell Fay was trying to hide it, but her happiness was fading fast. Having this many people so close to her in such a small space was freaking her out. The tic was going in her cheek again.

"Relax," Boone muttered under his breath. "It's a short ride to camp."

"I know," she whispered back, tugging her hood down over her face. At this point, all he could see of her was her nose and mouth. "It's fine. I..."

"What is _that_?" someone said loudly. Boone's head jerked up.

A young trooper, obviously a little drunk, had just stepped into their car. He was looking at Fay with disgust.

"I didn't know they transported corpses on this train," the young man added with a sneer. "I thought this space was reserved for soldiers." Fay bowed her head, pulling her hood tightly around her face.

Boone was about to stand up and calmly knock this moron on his ass, but another soldier beat him to it.

An older man had stood up. He was big and burly, with thick, red scars slashing across his face like he'd been struck with a hot branding iron.

"You must be new here," the man said, addressing the younger trooper. He had a surprisingly soft voice for someone so large, but it was threatening nonetheless. "We don't talk to the pale lady that way."

The young man wisely took a step back. The bigger soldier took a step forward, flexing his meaty hands.

"I didn't mean..." the drunk trooper said nervously.

"Yeah, you did," the beefy man growled. "You wanted to hurt the lady's feelings. I think you better find another car to sit in. You ain't welcome in this one."

The young trooper fled to another car. The burly soldier turned towards Fay, who was still looking at her knees. He knelt down in front of her. For a moment, Boone was worried he'd have to endure seeing Fay get proposed to yet again, but his fears disappeared when the man stared to speak.

"Sorry about him, Miss," the scarred man said quietly. Then his harsh face softened. "I never thought I'd see you again. Do you... do you remember me?"

Fay finally looked up, her odd eyes meeting those of the burly soldier. Boone felt her shake next to him.

"Yes, I do," she whispered. "I'm glad you made it."

"It's all thanks to you, Miss," the man said, and to Boone's complete shock and surprise, he saw tears forming in the big man's brown eyes. The soldier dug into his pocket, pulling out a smooth blue stone strung on a black cord.

"My wife wanted me to give you this if I ever saw you again," he said gently. A couple of tears dripped down his scarred cheeks. He wiped them away with one massive paw. "Because of you, Jenny got her husband back. I wish we had more to give..."

"Of course," Fay said softly, her fingers closing around the blue stone. She carefully hung it around her neck over top of her hood. "Thank you. It's beautiful."

The massive soldier locked eyes with Boone then.

"Are you her husband?" the man asked. It was an innocent question, but the sniper got a queasy feeling in his stomach at those words.

"No, I'm her partner," Boone managed after a moment.

The burly soldier frowned like that was an unacceptable answer. He looked back at Fay.

"I'd just assumed you were married, Miss..." the soldier said slowly. The man tilted his big head in Boone's direction again. "A young lady this special shouldn't be alone."

"It's alright," Fay assured him. "I'm not alone. My partner and I... we look out for each other."

"Good," the burly man said. He finished drying his eyes with his meaty hands. Then he grinned at Fay. His smile was lopsided from the damage to his face. "If you ever need a place to get a hot meal, my wife makes a mean gecko stew."

Fay smiled back kindly.

"I'll keep it in mind."

The beefy man nodded happily. Then he returned to his seat.

Fay turned to Boone, a pure, simple happiness shining in her blue eye. The blue stone matched her sapphire eye almost perfectly.

"How do you know him?" Boone asked once he was sure the burly soldier wasn't watching them.

"He was on a crucifix outside Cottonwood Cove when I dropped the toxic waste into the place," Fay said quietly, rubbing the blue stone between her thin fingers. "I cut him down and resuscitated him. I almost didn't think he'd make it."

Boone clenched his jaw.

I should have been there with you... if only I'd met you sooner. I could have helped you. But no, I was too wrapped up in my own misery to think about helping anyone but myself...

_Are you her husband?_

I don't deserve to be the husband of someone so perfect. I'm not even sure I deserve to be your partner. I could be your protector, your slave... that's about the level I'm at.

I would have destroyed Cottonwood Cove for myself, to make myself feel better. I would have destroyed that Legion camp for revenge. But you... you did it to save people, because you knew it was the right thing to do. Yeah, you're angry at the Legion... but that doesn't stop you from wanting to help people. Not like me...

Fay started leaning sideways, letting her head rest on his shoulder as the train started to move. It was so unexpected, Boone had to question it.

"You okay?"

"Mhm," Fay murmured, jerking herself away at the sound of his voice. "Oh, I'm sorry... That pain medicine Julie gave me, it's making me sleepy."

She gave her head a little shake, like she was trying to wake herself up. Some stray strands of silvery hair escaped from under her hood at that.

"It's alright," Boone muttered back. "Lean on me."

Come on, you know I won't hurt you... just lean on me. Just for a little while.

After a long moment, she allowed herself to lean ever so slightly into him once more, her pale cheek brushing his sleeve. A minute later, she had let her entire tiny body relax against him. Boone felt his pulse pick up. How could something so simple get his heart pounding so fast?

Boone took a deep breath, looking away for a moment. The burly soldier across the aisle was giving him a knowing look. The sniper quickly looked back at his partner.

You saved that man over there, gave him a second chance at life. Are you trying to save me, too? Because if anyone could save me... it'd be you.

I'm still not sure if I can be saved... maybe I could make better choices, but a murderer who does good deeds is still a murderer. But I'm still here, aren't I? And I can't hide from you, girl. I can't lie to you, I can't pretend to be a better man than I really am... you see right through me.

Boone carefully placed his rough hand over top of Fay's tiny, cold hand, squeezing it gently. Fay hummed in response, her thin fingers curling around his. For some reason, just that one gesture calmed his nerves. She was still here with him, too. Fay was with him because she wanted to be. After all, she was the one who had invited him along on this crazy road trip.

The two of them stayed like that for the entire trip to Camp McCarran, Fay leaning up against his broad side and Boone carefully holding her hand.

He didn't want this train ride to end, because he needed this. He wasn't just sitting near her... he was sitting with her. In this moment, they were together. She trusted him, out of all the people in this world, she'd picked him to be close to.

The sniper knew other soldiers were watching them curiously. He could practically feel their eyes on him and the little ghost girl sitting next to him. But for once, he didn't care. It was such a simple thing, sitting together on a train, but then... it wasn't. It meant something to him. He hoped it meant something to her, too.

Fay mumbled something incoherent in her sleep as she shifted against him.

Or it doesn't mean anything and she's just passed out on drugs, Boone sighed in his head.

He wanted to tell her how he felt, he really did... But he had no idea how to explain. It was still hard for him to put things like that into words. And even if he could, how would she react? He knew better than anyone that things like love and lust probably scared the living daylights out of her.

His only hope was to try and show her how much he cared and then pray that she didn't run away screaming. Because he couldn't lie to himself anymore... He wanted more from their relationship. He probably wanted more than his partner was able to give him at the moment.

Just be patient, Boone told himself sternly. She's already opened up to you a lot... And if you just wait, it'll be worth it. You know you want more than just someone to have sex with. If that was all you wanted, you could have hired yourself a prostitute a long time ago.

Boone's fingers tightened around Fay's.

I'm not giving up on you... And I'm not giving up on us. I owe you that much, because you never gave up on me. Even when I was angry, when I pushed you away, when I was a fucking asshole... you didn't give up on me.

The old train rolled on through the desert, carrying the two lonely hunters who had, at least for a moment, found each other.

* * *

Once they got to the station at the airport, Boone escorted his partner into camp. He wasn't even sure why, but he felt like he should. Some troopers whispered to each other as the pair passed. Some even looked openly worried at the sight of the tiny, pale girl clinging to Boone's arm.

"Hey," Fay said softly, giving his arm a gentle squeeze. "Mind if I go lie down for a little while? I think Julie gave me too much of this stuff..."

"Yeah," Boone said, nodding. "Go ahead. I'm going to go see the Colonel, if I can."

"Alright," she said faintly. "I swear, that's the last time I take any medicine from Julie..."

The girl wandered off towards the barracks on the upper level of the concourse. When he was sure she'd safely made it up there, Boone turned towards the Colonel's office.

The sniper approached the office, but his footsteps slowed as he got closer. It sounded like there was a heated argument going on inside. The sniper crept forward, leaning up against the wall by the door. He hadn't been intending to eavesdrop, but what he heard next immediately caught his attention.

"That little freak is back," a woman's voice said angrily. "She just let herself into the barracks right now, like she fucking belongs there. This camp isn't a playground for civilians!"

"I wish you'd let this go, Lieutenant," said a weary male voice. "Miss Zero has done nothing to harm us, a borrowed bed is little enough to give her. Besides, the men adore her."

"Including you," Lt. Boyd spat bitterly. "She's a distraction! We need your attention on this Camp, not on some girl!"

"Are you implying I have not put my best effort into running this operation, Lieutenant?" the Colonel said, an impatient edge to his voice. "You think I would ever allow my personal feelings to come before the safety and management of the troops and this Camp?"

"No, but..."

"And I'm sure you're not suggesting that I throw out Miss Zero after she has done the work of twenty soldiers?"

"That was nothing but dirty tricks, and you know it!" the Lieutenant protested.

"I'm not one to argue with results," the Colonel shot back. "She wiped out Cottonwood Cove and no one asked her to. The young lady even managed to return Captain Bryant to us! She should be rewarded, not banished."

"But..."

"I am done debating this," the Colonel said sharply. "To be frank, I feel as if your own personal feelings may be getting in the way of your judgment of Miss Zero."

"No shit!" Lt. Boyd shot back. "So she pulls some nasty tricks on the Legion and you want to just forget everything she did when she first came here! Yeah, I have a problem with that!"

"Watch your words, Lieutenant," the Colonel said softly. "And I remember as well as you what happened that night, thank you."

"She made a fool out of me on my watch!" the woman all but screamed, ignoring the Colonel's warning.

"Maybe so," James replied slowly. "But we repaid her in kind, didn't we? She injured no one, merely came here looking for assistance, and we replied with hostility and violence."

Boone's stomach clenched down on itself. What exactly had happened? What were they talking about? Why had Fay come here looking for help? And why had the NCR responded violently to her?

"She was asking for it," the woman spat.

"If that is how we treat the people we came here to protect, then I fear for the world we will make," the Colonel said sadly. "Now, I won't say it again... the matter is closed. Miss Zero is welcome any time. Return to your duties, Lieutenant. That's an order."

The office door was thrown open a second later, and a furious Lt Boyd stormed past Boone without noticing him. Boone swept into the office.

"Colonel Hsu," Boone said swiftly. The Colonel looked up from his desk.

"Corporal," the Colonel said, not looking all that surprised at Boone's sudden appearance. "Good to see you again. I assume Miss Zero is here as well?"

"Yeah," Boone said, biting back all the bitter, angry things he wanted to say. "She is."

"Well, then..." James said heavily. "How can I help you?"

Boone simply stood there, his jaw clenched as he stared down this man he'd once respected.

"What did you mean?" Boone spat out after the silence stretched on for too long. "You hurt her?"

James Hsu raised an eyebrow.

"If you were still under my command, I'd have you scrubbing floors as punishment for eavesdropping," the Colonel snapped, folding up papers on his desk.

"Yeah, well I'm not," Boone shot back. "So what did that mean?"

An odd look passed across the Colonel's face. It came and went so quickly, Boone wasn't able to comprehend it.

"Lieutenant Boyd is prone to holding grudges," the Colonel said blankly. "She was speaking of an old incident. Water under the bridge, so to speak, for everyone but her."

"What happened?"

James Hsu gave Boone an impatient glare, but Boone could see the tension in the other man's muscles. He was picking at a sensitive topic, no doubt something that the Colonel wanted to forget.

"There was a... miscommunication," the Colonel said, a bitter note in his voice now. "It was an accident, a misunderstanding."

Boone instantly felt sick to his stomach. That's what they said about the Bitter Springs Incident, too... A miscommunication, an accident. If Fay had been killed here, would she have gone down in the record books as nothing but a mistake, an accidental death? That was more than likely...

"That's bullshit. What really happened?" the sniper growled.

"It's not my place to say," the Colonel said firmly. "Suffice to say that no one died, so now may we move on? You must have had a reason for coming here."

Boone bit his tongue. He didn't want to drop the issue, he wanted to know how Fay had gotten hurt... but this guy was a Colonel. He commanded all the troopers in this Camp. James could have him thrown out of here in an instant. It would be better to just get what he came for and get out, and he could maybe ask Fay about it later...

"I need a map," Boone said shortly. "A big one that shows the area to the West of here, beyond Jacobstown."

The Colonel sighed, clearly at a loss, but he consented to go to his desk and pull out a map, which he rolled out on a table.

"It's mostly Fiend territory out that way," James commented, waving a hand at the map. "We've scouted the area, but we haven't been able to deploy troopers to secure it because of the war with the Legion."

"Any villages out that way?" Boone asked, scanning the map intently.

"Fiend territory has expanded beyond the mountains, here," James said stiffly, gesturing to a smaller area. "There are very few villages within it."

The Colonel jabbed a finger at the map.

"This is the largest one we've found," he said, pointing to a settlement to the north, situated on the east side of a river. "It's called Misty Shores."

Well, that was easy, Boone thought. He didn't even need to ask, that had to be the place. Looking at the map, he almost instantly understood why Fay felt safe in the Mojave... While she was here, there was a decent sized mountain range separating her from her home town.

"What do you know about it?" Boone asked, memorizing the village's location and noting the mountain pass that had been marked on the map.

"Not much," the Colonel admitted. "It's very isolated. Not many traders go there. I hear the people there are... strange."

"How are they strange?"

The Colonel shrugged.

"Superstitious, I suppose you'd call it," he said, frowning at the dot marking the village's location. "They believe ghosts dwell in the mist that often rises from the water's surface."

Boone bowed his head. Fay had been just another ghost to them... Someone to avoid, someone to forget.

The Colonel paused, looking thoughtful.

"The traders call it the Boneyard," he added. "You can probably guess why."

Boone frowned. Fay had never mentioned that... but he wouldn't let some stupid nickname scare him away.

"But tell me, why the interest in that area?" James asked curiously. "You can't be thinking about traveling that way... You'd be better off facing the Legion. Fiends have lost all common sense, they fight like animals."

Boone sighed. He knew that already, of course. But hearing it out loud made him think... Fay wasn't planning on coming with him, was she? He didn't think so, she'd made it pretty clear going back there wasn't an option for her, not while those Fiends were still alive. But just to be safe...

"I have... things to do out that way," Boone said shortly. He pulled out his own map, borrowed from the Followers, and began sketching out the village's location.

"I see," the Colonel said suspiciously. "Are you breaking your word already, Corporal?"

"No," Boone said shortly. He looked up from his sketch. "Zero needs a place to stay for a few days, until I come back."

James sighed, scratching his scruffy cheek.

"As I'm sure you heard, the Lieutenant won't like that, however... I suppose if it's just for a few days..."

"Thanks," Boone said gruffly, folding up his roughly sketched map. "I'll be heading out soon."

James simply frowned as he watched Boone pocket his map.

"She's not going to like this," James said as Boone turned to go.

"You just said that," Boone said sharply.

"No, I mean Miss Zero," the Colonel said impatiently. "It appears she's grown rather attached to you... She won't like you going off on your own. And as it seems that's what you're planning to do, I just thought I'd warn you."

"Great, thanks for the advice," Boone snapped irritably.

"Not at all," the Colonel said easily. "But you should speak to her before you go. If you think I'm going to stop her from following you, I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken."

"Fine," the sniper said before stomping out the door.

But as soon as he was far enough away from that office, he sat down on a ruined chair, staring down at the dirty floor. He was sure the Colonel was right... Fay would at least try to follow him. But as much as he was going to miss her, he didn't want her to come with him on this little excursion. He wanted her to stay safe at this Camp until he was done getting her the justice she deserved.

And then he'd come back and take her West. He'd help her find a new home where she could be safe from the Legion.

He thought about all the questions he wanted to ask her before he left... but he wanted to keep Fay safe more than he wanted answers. Answers could wait. Keeping his partner safe was the more pressing matter right now.

Boone stood up and swept outside into the training yard, still wondering if he was doing the right thing. It didn't help that night was beginning to fall and stars were starting to come out. The stars only served to remind him of Fay's shining white hair, like starlight, and how it had felt between his fingers.

Boone quickly looked back at the ground.

Fuck... you have to go. You have to go _now._ By the time she wakes up and figures out that you're gone, it'll be too late for her to pick up your trail. Yeah, she'll be pissed... but hopefully she'll understand that you're doing this for her and she'll wait for you here.

The sniper shifted his rifle on his shoulder, resisting the urge to look back. If he looked back, he might not be able to make himself leave.

I hope this isn't a mistake, Boone thought as he headed for the gate. But you said I could choose my own path, remember? Well... I guess I'm going to choose the only thing I know...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't played the older Fallout games, so I didn't realize there was another location called the Boneyard already in the Fallout lore! This is a different Boneyard haha.


	11. Chapter 11

Boone tossed and turned in the small stone recess he'd hidden himself in. He'd stopped for a little while to rest, but that maybe wasn't the best idea he'd ever had...

_"She died alone, and you weren't there for her. The Legion always collects its debts," a cruel voice echoed in his head._

_Fay... she was dead. The Legion had caught up to them... How could this have happened? He reached out for her, only to have hands pulling him back._

_Boone watched in agony as faceless Legion soldiers dragged Fay's limp corpse out of his reach and down towards the river below... The sniper saw her white fingers reaching out for him even in death._

_It should have been me... Why couldn't it have been me?_

_"Don't worry, we saved a place for you, NCR scum... we have a debt to collect from you as well."_

_A massive crucifix rose out of the ground, and rough hands lashed him to it... But the pain from that didn't matter, the only thing that mattered was the tiny, pale body that was drifting further away from him on gentle currents..._

_Please... please... You can't be dead. You crawled out of the river once when everyone thought you were dead... Just one more time._

_It was starting to become hard to breathe..._

With an extremely uncomfortable jolt to his guts, Craig Boone wrenched himself out of his nightmare. He rolled over in the sand, coughing as his lungs went into overdrive trying to keep him alive. Boone stumbled out of his hiding place, sucking in shuddering breaths, his nightmare still playing in his head like a tape without a pause button.

The wasteland was silent. Nothing moved or made a sound except for him.

Come on, he scolded himself as he got to his feet and dusted off his pants. Get it together... it was just a dream. Fay's not dead, she's probably still at Camp McCarran and completely pissed off at you.

The sniper, still taking in unsteady breaths, looked up at the stars, hoping to calm himself. And it was starting to work, that was until he felt the barrel of a gun being jabbed into his spine.

"Caesar received your message," a voice growled.

A Legion assassin... great. Should have seen this coming...

"Oh, good, I was starting to worry," Boone said sarcastically.

"For that insult, the Caesar has ordered your death as well, along with the undead woman," the man hissed in his ear. "So where is she? If you give her up now, I'll make it quick."

"Fuck you," Boone growled, trying to think of a way out of this situation... Long range combat was his specialty, not close quarter combat. "You'll never find her. And even if you did, she's more than a match for a pathetic waste of skin like you."

"Perhaps you'd like a place on the cross instead?" the assassin hissed. "That could be arranged, if you don't surrender her right now!"

"You can kill me, but it won't get you closer to her," Boone snarled. "You're wasting your fucking breath."

"Is that..."

But Boone didn't wait for what the Legion assassin was going to say... In an instant, he'd whipped around and slammed his hand into the man's arm, forcing the gun away. The Legionnaire managed to fire off a shot first, and the bullet grazed the sniper's arm, tearing off a chunk of flesh, but Boone refused to let that stop him. All his anger, all his desperation he put into pushing that gun further and further away. Boone could see fear beginning to surface in his enemy's eyes...

"Should've killed me when you had the chance... last mistake you'll ever make," Boone spat in the assassin's face. He'd almost wrestled the gun out of the Legionnaire's hand when he heard a soft crunch.

The assassin stopped struggling almost instantly, his hands going slack. Boone tugged the gun out of his grip, watching in fascination as the man stumbled a few steps sideways before keeling over face first into the sand.

There was a knife embedded in his back, blood seeping into his clothes.

Boone let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. When nothing else moved, he slowly relaxed and pressed his free hand to his wound. He peered into the shadows, trying to spot his stealthy companion... but he couldn't see her anywhere.

Fay's sweet voice echoed from the shadows, the sound almost getting lost in a cold desert wind.

"Sorry, my hand slipped," she said faintly. Boone immediately felt relief flooding his body upon hearing her speak.

"Yeah, I'll bet," the sniper murmured. But he couldn't deny the joy that was expanding in his chest at simply knowing she was nearby.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," the darkness offered playfully. Boone stepped forward a little, squinting into the darkness, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

"Yeah, well... there's no such thing as ghosts," Boone replied, still trying to pinpoint her location in the dark. The yellowish light from the crescent moon hanging over them wasn't helping much.

"Are you sure?" the shadow questioned him seriously.

"I'm sure," Boone said firmly, clamping his wound tighter. "Why don't you come on out? I can't see you."

The darkness was quiet for a long moment. Even though he couldn't see her, Boone could practically sense Fay's sadness and hesitation about fully trusting him now that she knew he'd willingly leave her behind...

"You left without me, and you didn't even say goodbye," the darkness said softly, confirming his fears. "That's kind of..." she paused there, searching for the right word.

Mean? Selfish? Horrible?

"Rude," Fay finished eventually. "That was rude."

Probably not what I would have gone with, but alright.

He had to try and explain why he'd done it... If he didn't, he might never completely earn back her trust.

"I... I didn't want you following me," Boone grumbled, kicking at some stones by his feet. "I wanted you to stay safe at Camp McCarran."

More silence.

"You had to know that I could follow you if I wanted to, Craig," the shadow said gently.

"I know," Boone sighed. "But I had to try. You... you, well..." the sniper paused, swallowing hard. He had to say this, to help her understand why he'd made the choice that he had.

"I what?" Fay prompted curiously.

"You're the only good thing I've got left," Boone managed, attempting to ignore the blood dripping from between his fingers. He hoped Fay would help him fix his wound in a minute... "And whatever happened to you out there... you don't need to be dragged through all that shit again. So I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was leaving, but... I'm not sorry I left."

The sniper let go of his wound, shoving his bloody hand into his pocket, pulling out Fay's silver coin. He held it out to the darkness.

"You said I could choose a side," he reminded her. "I guess... that was what I wanted, for you to stay. So I made a choice to try and keep you safe, and I don't regret it."

He tucked the bloody coin safely back in his pocket, right next to his letter to Carla.

"That's it?" the shadow questioned him.

"Yeah... that's it," Boone sighed. "Sorry."

It was another long moment before Boone finally detected movement in the shadows. A tiny, pale figure cloaked in leather armor stepped out of the darkness. She was smiling gently as she approached him, a warm glow back in her sapphire eye. It had only been a day, but God how he'd missed her unique eyes and that warm smile that was just for him.

And he knew she'd forgiven him. If she hadn't, she would have disappeared without a word.

"You're hurt," she said quietly, gesturing at his arm.

"It's not that bad," Boone said easily. With Fay by his side, nothing could really hurt him anymore. Fay rolled her eyes.

"Just... take off that shirt and sit down," the girl said firmly. "I'll fix it, but you really need to stop with the silly stunts... You've been stitched up enough already."

"And I'm the one who's no fun?" Boone questioned her sarcastically as he wandered back over to the sheltered recess he'd been sleeping in.

"Ha ha..." Fay whispered at his back.

Boone removed his ammo harness and armor, finally wiggling out of his shirt, accidentally taking off his undershirt with it. He didn't really give it much thought until he saw the pale pink blush creeping up his partner's cheeks.

Oh... he thought, watching as Fay averted her eyes, twisting her pale fingers together. Oops, I guess this is too much, too soon, huh? But you like what you see, right?

Obviously attempting to cover up her embarrassment, Fay set her pack by her feet, pulling out the supplies she needed to stitch him up. She wasn't wearing her sling anymore, but her injured shoulder still seemed to be hurting her... every movement involving that shoulder was slow and awkward.

Boone sat down in his little shelter, choosing to ignore her embarrassment. He sure wasn't embarrassed, even with the blood trickling down the back of his arm, a testament to his mistakes. A few minutes later, he felt Fay carefully wiping away the blood so she could begin working on him, using the light from her Pip-Boy to see by.

He bowed his head as his partner began silently sewing him up. His skin tingled where her cold fingers touched him.

Maybe you shouldn't have forgiven me so easily, but I'm glad you did. Do I tell you now, how I feel about you?

You're nothing like Carla, but being with Carla was like living a fantasy, living out a part of someone else's life. And I loved it, but being with you isn't like that. I think I have it now, what's so different about you.

You don't make me forget... you make me remember. You make me remember who I really am.

That's what gets me about you, girl. You make me face the truth, even if it's ugly. But I'm okay with that. Because the truth about me isn't all bad...

Because the truth is... I care about you. Lately I care so much it fucking hurts, because you don't get it. You've spent so much time alone, you don't understand it. And I'm probably not the best person to teach you about intimacy... but damn do I want to try.

"Thanks for your help by the way," he muttered as she began wrapping the wound in fresh bandages. Fay hummed softly at his back.

"You're welcome," she said, her breath tickling the back of his neck. "I mean... we're friends, right?"

Boone sighed. This might be harder than he thought.

"Yeah, we're friends," he said, trying to keep the exasperation out of his voice. "I don't do shit like this for just anybody."

"What, put yourself in danger on purpose?" she asked.

"Yes... that," Boone said shortly.

"Oh, well... good to know," Fay whispered as she finished her bandaging job. "All done."

"Thanks," the sniper said, flexing his arm. It didn't hurt too much, it wouldn't slow him down at all. He tugged his shirt back on.

"You should sit still for now," his partner told him firmly, shifting her position so that she was sitting next to him instead of behind him. Her golden eye pierced him with a stern look. "We can move out in a little while."

"No,"Boone said seriously, staring her down, refusing to admit defeat on this just yet. "I still want you to go back... stay safe. I said I'd do this for you, and I meant it."

"Hmm... because you were doing so well on your own," she commented airily, removing her lighted Pip-Boy and setting it down between them so they could see each other.

Boone bit back another sigh. She was right, of course. After years of being trained to work with a partner, being on his own felt weird and wrong.

"I don't want to go back there, to my home... I really don't," she whispered, edging ever so slightly closer to him. Boone imagined she found his presence comforting. Or at least that's what he told himself. "I spent six years hiding out near that place until I was old enough to leave. But... I can at least come with you part of the way. And so if you need me, I'll be there."

"Fine," Boone reluctantly agreed. "But when we get close, we find you a place to hide while I kill those assholes... deal?"

"Alright, alright..." Fay said, rolling her mismatched eyes at him. Then she brought her knees up to her chest, shivering as another cold breeze swept by them.

"Cold?" Boone questioned her.

"A little," she admitted. "Not sure why... I should be used to this."

Boone snorted.

"It's because you're nothing but skin and bones, that's why," he told her. He shifted his body until his back was up against the stone wall. Then he held out his arms, gesturing for her to come over. "Come on... I'll keep you warm."

Fay blinked at him like she was sure she'd heard him wrong.

"Why would you want to do that?" she asked cautiously. But Boone could've sworn he'd heard a hint of longing under all that hesitation... so she was human after all. She had human wants and human needs, she'd just been suppressing them for a very long time.

"We'll both sleep better that way," Boone said reasonably.

Fay gave him an uncertain look.

"Maybe you would..." she said slowly, tugging her hood further down her forehead. "But I don't usually, um... sleep with other people."

"You did on the monorail," Boone pointed out.

"That was different," Fay protested. "I'd taken all that pain medicine... I couldn't help it."

The sniper was having a hard time resisting the urge to simply tell her that she was being ridiculous about this... but pushing her wouldn't get results. She had to willingly come to him.

"Look... it's not a big deal, okay?" Boone said as gently as he could. "You can trust me."

He held out his arms once more. For a moment he thought he might've just made a fool out of himself, but then Fay moved ever so slightly, carefully edging over to his side, eventually nestling herself in his arms. Somewhat in shock that that had actually worked, Boone carefully wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into him.

"Just... just for a little while, okay?" she murmured into his shirt.

"Yeah," Boone muttered, breathing in the scent of her skin. "Just for a little while."

Boone's arms tightened around his partner. This felt good, this felt really good... It was nice to feel needed, to feel wanted.

It must have taken at least half an hour for his partner to completely relax like she had while on drugs, but eventually she did. After another hour, Boone figured she must have finally drifted off, but then she whispered something else to him.

"Hey... can you do something for me?"

Boone glanced down into her golden eye.

"Sure."

"When you get to the Boneyard, can you do me a favor and... don't go in the house," she said seriously.

Boone frowned.

"What house?"

Fay looked down at her lap, examining her bone white fingers.

"You'll know it when you see it," she said quietly. "And it's nothing bad, but... I left things behind in there. I didn't think anyone would ever go in there, see? But nothing in there will help you, okay?"

"Okay?" he said, raising an eyebrow at her. Fay sighed into his shirt.

"I know you probably won't listen, but I just thought I'd tell you how I felt about it," she finished, closing her eyes once more.

Boone rough fingers carefully traced the curve of his partner's waist as he sat there, suddenly lost in thought. Not about Fay's mysterious house, but something more personal. It occurred to him then that this might be the perfect opportunity to test the waters, see if Fay felt anything for him without admitting how he felt...

"What about me?" he said before he could stop himself.

Fay shifted against him.

"What about you?" she whispered so faintly he barely heard it.

"How do you feel... about me?" Boone murmured.

A soft sigh met his ears, a sound Boone could easily imagine Fay making after an amazing session of love making...

"I don't know..." she said carefully. "How should I feel about you?"

"You tell me."

Fay gave him an exasperated sigh that time, like she wasn't sure why he gave a damn about her feelings.

"I'm not sure what you want to hear, but... well, you have to know that I've never been this close to anyone else before, not since I was a little girl," she whispered, bowing her head so that her hair fell in her face.

Well, that wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, but... it's something, at least.

"Yeah," Boone said quietly as he pushed her hair back so he could at least see some of her porcelain face. "I know."

"And, for what it's worth... I feel really good about that," she blurted out, a pink tinge staining her cheeks again. After a pause, she piped up again. "So, does that answer your question?"

"Yeah," he replied, trying to suppress the big, goofy grin that was threatening to spread across his face. There was hope for them after all. "See, was that so hard?"

Fay simply closed her eyes and let her head rest on his chest. Another breeze swept past them, tugging at her silvery hair, blowing it back into her face.

"Craig..." she whispered, her hair fluttering as she spoke. "Don't make me hurt you."

Hurt me? Boone thought incredulously. Fay, the only way you could hurt me now is by breaking my heart.


	12. Chapter 12

It had only taken the pair another day to reach the mountains, even going at the slower pace that Boone had set for them to account for his partner's injury.

Fay hadn't said a word to him about how she felt about sleeping in his arms, and Boone didn't try to force the issue. But the sniper was already hoping she'd sleep in his arms tonight and every night for the rest of their lives. Nightmares normally plagued him during his sleep, nightmares of Bitter Springs or losing Carla. But last night... nothing but peaceful oblivion with a beautiful woman in his arms.

He'd tried once more to get Fay to go back, but she'd refused. Then he'd offered to check on her wound, change her bandages, make sure she was okay... she'd refused that, too.

So instead they'd simply walked in companionable silence towards the mountains. Boone was glad that even after all this time together, she still understood that talk wasn't always necessary. She let him have his peace, his silence. That was until...

"Craig?" Fay's sweet voice hit his ears. He turned toward her.

"Yeah?"

"Don't look now, but there are more assassins following us," she said cheerfully. She flashed him a blindingly white smile, like she was thrilled to have a reason to kill someone. Boone was starting to suspect that his partner was nuts, not that he cared. Some days he felt like he was on the edge of insanity himself. He sighed, putting a hand to his temple.

"Figures…" he grumbled under his breath, but he did as she asked and didn't look back. He should have known that there would be more. "How far back?"

"Oh, maybe half a mile or so… they're trying not to be seen. They're not very good at this," she said sadly, like she felt sorry for their lack of skill. Boone chuckled.

"Come on, this way..." he said quietly. "We'll walk behind this ridge. One of them might be a sniper."

"Maybe," Fay agreed. "But I've done this before, Craig. Stop worrying. Besides, I've got my own sniper. A better one than any the Legion could come up with, I'm sure."

Boone cleared his throat, feeling the back of his neck reddening. It was a simple compliment, one that had been said extremely pragmatically, but Boone had spent enough time with his partner to know that there was feeling behind it… and trust.

He wished he could address the topic of their sleeping together last night… He wanted her to bring it up to him, to somehow let him know that she'd enjoyed it as much as he had. But no, she simply swept along beside him, holding her bad arm to her chest. A hard little knot formed in Boone's stomach as he watched her.

Both of them carefully changed direction and began heading for cover, but casually, so as not to arouse suspicion. A wind blew across the irradiated, dusty desert, throwing sand in their faces. Boone pulled out his sunglasses.

"So, what… you own me now?" he joked lightly. Fay beamed at him, tugging her hood further down so he could barely glimpse her gleaming teeth.

"Hey, you're the one following me, remember?" she said happily. "That means I call the shots, right?"

The sniper rolled his eyes, shifting his heavy pack on his shoulder. The one thing he'd managed to convince Fay to let him do for her was carry her things.

"Huh..." he said slowly. "Don't remember making that deal."

"Oh, you ruin all my fun..." Fay sighed. "Well, how do you want to get rid of them?"

"You're supposed to be resting. We don't need this shit right now," Boone grumbled irritably, avoiding her question.

"Does anyone ever need it?" Fay asked as they disappeared behind the stony ridge. There wasn't a whole lot of choice… this plain was fairly devoid of good cover.

Boone swung his rifle off his back and quickly checked to make sure it was loaded and ready. Fay reloaded her pistol, Boone watching out of the corner of his eye. But there was no way he was going to let her fight if he didn't have to.

How can I show you I care? By killing these assassins? I've killed for you before, and you've killed for me. No, it needs to be something else. I thought maybe holding you while you slept would do it… but on the other hand, I told you that wasn't a big deal.

And what would you know about love? Actually… what would either of us know about love?

What can I do? I can't just say it… I'm no good with words. It'll come out all wrong.

"Is this the part where you say 'I told you so'?" Fay said with a playful smile. Boone grunted.

"Yeah, well… I tried to get them to back off. Didn't work, I guess."

Fay frowned, brushing back her hair so it was out of her face.

"When was this?"

"Bitter Springs," Boone mumbled under his breath. "Sent Caesar a message that if he wanted you, he'd have to go through me."

His partner's frown deepened, the scar on her forehead wrinkling. Not for the first time, Boone wondered who had shot her in the head, if only so he could hunt that person down and kill them. Yeah, that would feel good… like blowing off Jeannie May's head had felt good.

"Why would you do that?" she asked, her golden eye glinting under her hood. "You want to be on Caesar's hit list? You jealous I'm on it or something?"

"Very," Boone confirmed. But he couldn't tell her why he'd done it, purposely pissed off Caesar… not yet anyway.

Thankfully for him, there was still the matter of the assassins to deal with.

"Be right back."

Boone crept around the side of the ridge. The assassins wouldn't know what hit them. He lined up a shot, and a split second later pulled the trigger.

He'd never really thought about it before, how easy it was for him to kill at a distance. But as those assassins fell dead in the sand, Boone was wishing he had Fay's skill at killing up close and personal. Sometimes he felt that would be even more satisfying than sniping from a distance.

Boone easily picked them off like he'd done to so many others. He hit the one in the back first, his bullet piercing the man's forehead so that he dropped like a stone. As the man collapsed, the other two turned around to see what had happened. Boone's next shot entered the back of the second assassin's head. The third tried to run for cover, not that he got very far before Boone's bullet pierced his back.

"Not bad," came Fay's voice right behind him. "Could've gotten that last guy a little quicker."

Boone heaved a sigh.

"You should have waited down there," he said, pointing to the ridge.

"I hate waiting," Fay said with a grin.

Boone bit his tongue to keep himself from saying something stupid, but it didn't work.

"You're going to get yourself killed," he snapped. "Could you just listen to me for once?"

Fay made an odd face at him, taking a step back.

"Well… then so are you," she said slowly. "Putting yourself between me and Caesar… you really are crazy."

"I had to," Boone barked at the sand. "They would have overrun Bitter Springs to get to you."

"No, you didn't!" Fay insisted, clenching her tiny fists by her sides. The wind picked up angrily, pulling at Fay's starlight hair. Fay furiously pushed it out of her way. "You made a choice... that's all it is. So why did you do it when you didn't have to?"

Boone swore under his breath, slinging his rifle on his back. They didn't need to have this conversation right now… He wasn't ready for it.

"Yeah… I did," he sighed. "I had to."

He looked toward the mountains. They still had a little ways to go before they made it to the pass…

"Come on… we're wasting time," he snapped over his shoulder. He just caught Fay giving him a confused look as he climbed over a sand dune.

"Craig, wait…" Fay said quickly, running to catch up with him. She nearly lost her footing for a moment, her boot sliding in the shifting sand… Boone threw out his arms to catch her. And he did catch her, Fay tripping into his embrace, but in his haste he'd grabbed at her wound.

"Ow," Fay moaned, jerking away from him, grasping her injured shoulder. His partner gave him a reproachful look. "That hurt."

It must have hurt… there was a small blood stain on what he could see of her bandages. Great, if he'd ripped her open again... the blood stain spread a little bit more as he watched.

Boone was already feeling nettled… he didn't want to add further guilt on top of it. But it was too late, guilt and shame were already bubbling in his guts like acid. He shouldn't have grabbed her so roughly… His only saving grace was that she didn't look angry.

"Listen," she said gently, sliding up to him. "Why are you acting like this?"

Boone just stood there in the sand, feeling the wind whipping around him. Fay's odd eyes held him in place, one bright gold and the other sapphire blue. They had been the part of her that had drawn him in… not her pale skin, not her starlight hair, not her sweet voice… it was those damn eyes that wouldn't let him go.

Sometimes he felt like she must have two souls, and that's why she had such different eyes... maybe she could lend one soul to him, lend him a little bit of life...

Her gaze softened.

"Look… I already told you, I know you," she whispered. "And you seem angry, so… I'm guessing something hurts in here."

She reached out and tapped his chest plate, right over his heart.

Boone clenched his jaw, but didn't deny it.

"Want to tell me what hurts?" she said softly. She lowered her hand, brushing his fist with her fingers.

Boone still said nothing… Fay looked away, temporarily freeing him from her spell.

"Okay," she said, nodding. "Well… let's keep going then."

She began to turn away, heading toward the pass, Boone trailing in her wake. She was so trusting of him… She believed in him. Just say something, you moron… anything. You're letting her slip away.

"Tell me something."

Fay tilted her head back towards him as she walked. While she was busy looking at him, she tripped. Boone instinctively reached out to grab her hand. Fay accepted his big, warm hand grasping hers without question.

It occurred to him that a few months ago, she would have nervously shaken him off.

"Sure?"

Just ask her… Just say it. She's not even shaking anymore when you touch her. That's got to mean something.

"What am I to you?"

His partner raised a pale eyebrow at him.

"You make a good meat shield," she said brightly, flashing him another blindingly white smile. Boone rolled his eyes.

"That's not what I meant."

"Well then what did you mean?" Fay sighed. "I've noticed this with people… No one says what they really mean, they just want me to know... And I don't know, okay?"

"Am I… just a partner?"

Fay squeezed his fingers, her thumb feeling some of the scars on the back of his hand. She was silent for a while, pondering her response.

"I'm not sure how to say it," she said softly. "What's more than a friend?"

How about a romantic partner? Lover? Both sound good to me… Being around you hurts, but not as much as it hurt before. Somehow remembering the past makes it hurt less. Don't think I ever would have thought of that…

"I, uh..."

"Look, why don't you just tell me what hurts, okay?" Fay insisted one more time. "I know that's what you're trying to do."

"Nothing hurts," Boone grumbled. "I'm fine."

"And you're lying," Fay said cheerfully. "Just tell me? We've been traveling together for a while now… I won't make fun."

He knew she wouldn't. She'd listen attentively just like she had at Bitter Springs. And she wouldn't judge him. Possibly she didn't know how, she simply formed opinions in that pretty little head of hers.

Except all he had to tell her was how much he wanted to be with her, and he was afraid to tell her that because she might reject him like she'd rejected James Hsu. She'd still care about him, of course. But she'd never let him get any closer than that.

It's just… I care about you, he thought desperately to himself. And if you reject me… what am I supposed to do with that? Find the death that I originally came out here to get?

"Look..." Boone began uncertainly. "Let's talk about it later, okay?"

"Later..." Fay repeated. "I'll hold you to that."

"Hang on, I gotta check my map," Boone added, ensuring that his partner would give up on her interrogation.

She squeezed his hand and then let go, skipping playfully through the sand. Boone happily watched her butt as she walked.

We don't have to talk, Boone thought lazily as he unfolded his map. Talk is overrated. If I could just find a way to show you that I care...

But nothing better than his original plan occurred to him, so he double checked his map, then continued on the same path toward the ominous mountains.

/

The walk through the pass had been surprisingly uneventful. The only other living things they saw on the way were some Big Horners and a few geckos, which Fay happily hit with her knives to conserve bullets.

Once they'd gotten through the pass, the air had started to thicken in the cooler temperatures, congealing into a swirling white mist. Boone wasn't used to this kind of weather... he'd never traveled much outside of the Mojave. The sand had long since changed to a kind of sandy, dusty dirt.

Fay looked more and more unhappy with every step they took. After that it wasn't long before she stopped dead in her tracks.

"There it is," she whispered, pointing off into the mist. "Sorry, this is as far as I go."

Boone squinted in the direction she was pointing in, and after a moment he saw what she was seeing. A valley and a small town, shrouded in mist, and a river flowing behind it. Boone immediately began subconsciously memorizing the terrain, but Fay interrupted his planning.

"Listen..." Fay said slowly at his back. "Now that we're here... I'm not so sure you should go down there."

Boone frowned, waiting for an explanation, but he didn't get one.

"We could go back, you know," Fay whispered into the mist. "Let's just forget about this. We could go back and make the Legion pay for what they took from us. We could do it together."

Boone stared at his partner. She looked sick, like this mist was sucking the life out of her. Those mismatched eyes seemed dull and dead, like the blue stone around her neck.

She really did understand how he felt... The Legion had taken Fay's friends like they'd taken Boone's wife. And every day that memory caused him pain, like her memories no doubt caused her pain.

But as tempting as her offer was... he couldn't take it. It was too risky to go back. Besides, now that he was here he could barely contain his desire to get out there and mercilessly slaughter some Fiends... specifically, the ones that had tortured his partner. He owed it to her to get her justice.

"We can't go back," he said slowly. "The Legion will find us eventually. You know that."

"I also know that this is crazy, Craig," she whispered. "I never should have asked you to come here. I don't know what I was thinking..."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Boone grumbled. "I told you, I know what I'm doing. Done it a million times in the NCR."

An image of Bitter Springs involuntarily rose in his mind, but he furiously pushed it away. He'd make his peace with that later, once he was done protecting the only thing in his life that really mattered.

Because Fay had been right about that, too... He was still a solider at heart. And a soldier's job, in his mind, was to protect the innocent. And although he knew Fay was anything but innocent, he couldn't help but picture her that way.

Fay fidgeted in front of him. He could tell she was trying to come up with another argument as to why they should go back. Her thin hand dove into her pocket but she came up empty handed.

"I keep forgetting you have it," she admitted. "The coin."

"You want it back?" Boone offered, holding the bloody coin out to her. He quickly wiped his dried blood from the surface.

"No," Fay said, shaking her white head. "It was a gift, to help you think."

"I can think just fine," Boone sighed, pocketing the coin. Fay shook her head again, wayward hair going everywhere. She absently slipped a blade out of her sleeve, twirling it between her fingers before stowing it back in its hidden sheath.

"If you could think you'd take me back," she murmured, silvery hair framing her thin face. "Forget this whole thing."

"Yeah, well... someone once told me I'd never forget," Boone shot back. He paused, then laughed quietly to himself. "And she was right," he added with a grin.

Fay smiled weakly. Boone wished she didn't look so sick out here, almost... like a ghost. He shook his head, dismissing that thought.

"So where do I find these Fiends?" he asked, squinting into the mist. It occurred to him that this atmosphere wasn't exactly ideal for sniping. How would he see in this to shoot properly?

"North," Fay said quietly. "Beyond that, I'm not sure. I'd ask the people in town."

His contemplation of the weather came to an immediate halt. Him... talking to those heartless monsters who had abandoned the girl standing next to him?

"Me... talk to them?" Boone snarled. Fay blinked, like she couldn't understand his sudden ferocity.

"Yes..." she said slowly. "They might have seen something I couldn't at the time..."

Right, because they didn't care enough to try and help you, Boone thought furiously.

"Thanks, but I'll find the Fiends on my own," Boone spat. "I'm not talking to those people. Forget it."

Fay shrugged her slim shoulders and flinched.

"Suit yourself..." she murmured. "But it'd probably be smart to know more before you wander off into the mist, wouldn't you think?"

Boone bit down on the inside of his cheek, and it wasn't long before he'd ripped open the soft tissue yet again. Blood seeped in between his teeth. She was right again... this was one mission he couldn't afford to take chances on.

"Fine, I'll ask them," he said through gritted teeth.

Fay nodded.

"And as soon as you're done... you'll come back to me, right?" she asked uncertainly.

Boone's anger faded almost as quickly as it had come upon taking in the worried look on Fay's pale face. He swallowed a gob of bloody spit.

"Yeah," he replied, reaching out to brush her hand like he'd been doing recently... but Fay caught his hand in hers, raising it to her cheek. She pressed his big hand to the side of her face like she'd done when she'd first confessed her horrible past to him...

"And then you'll go West?" Boone breathed. Fay nodded into his palm.

"I promised, didn't I?" she whispered, a little bit of life back in her eyes.

Boone didn't like the idea of leaving Fay here... he was almost tempted to ask her to come with him, but then he realized that probably wouldn't be the best idea. She was still hurt... and on top of that, she was obviously suffering from some kind of post traumatic stress from the memories of her torture, not that he blamed her.

"And then you'll tell me what hurts?" she added, slowly releasing his hand.

Boone nodded silently. Fay reached out and snatched his beret off his head. Boone was about to protest, but all she did was dust it off and then put it back.

"Might as well look nice when you go to meet the neighbors," she said, completely stone faced.

Boone felt himself grinning, despite the insane situation he was about to put himself in.

"You think I look good?"

"I do," Fay said serenely.

Boone's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't been expecting that answer...

He knew for a fact that he probably did not look good. He probably looked sweaty and dirty and gross. His partner, through some magic of her own, still looked flawless to him. Beautiful and flawless. And he wasn't about to argue with her over what she saw in him.

What did she see in him, anyway? When those odd eyes looked right through him... what did they see?

"Just... hurry back. Please," she whispered. "I don't want to stay here long."

"Alright," he manged, trying to work up the will to leave. "I'll be back soon, and we'll get the hell out of here. And you'll be rid of those assholes."

Fay nodded.

"I'll wait here," she whispered.

Boone glanced at the town. He wondered which house out there had been hers... but he'd said he wouldn't go inside.

Then something caught his eye as his partner looked distractedly behind them. The ground between the town and where they were standing looked weird, uneven...

"This place a junkyard?" he asked, squinting at the ground.

"Hm?"

"All that stuff down there..."

"Stuff?" Fay repeated incredulously. "I think you mean bones."

Oh... Boone thought, embarrassed at his sudden stupidity. Of course... the Boneyard.

"The Fiends massacred a bunch of people here a long time ago... that's what's left," Fay informed him, her hands shaking. "No one ever tried to bury them. And more bones just keep piling up..."

"Sounds like these Fiends have had it coming to them for a long time, then," Boone growled, tapping subconsciously at his machete.

"True," Fay agreed. "I hope it's worth it."

"It definitely will be," he assured her, a strange heat rising in his chest. This was it... he was actually going to get his lovely partner the justice she deserved, and then she'd hopefully sleep better in his arms at night.

Fay grinned.

"That's the soldier I know," she whispered, leaning forward to peck him on the cheek. "There's no stopping you from doing what you think is right... and having some fun, huh?"

Boone made an indistinct noise, his brain having temporarily short circuited. Fay didn't seem to notice.

"Good luck... come back soon, okay?" she added, stepping back into the mist. Boone simply stood there, his heart pounding and his cheek tingling, as he watched her disappear into the fog. And moments later she was gone, almost like she really was a ghost, like she had never been there at all.

Boone touched a hand to his cheek.

I think I love you, he thought, warm emotions flooding his body, adding to his internal fire. And maybe... maybe you love me back. I promise we'll find out if it's true. Soon.

Craig Boone turned and descended into the Boneyard.


	13. Chapter 13

Boone cautiously approached the town, tiny bones crunching under his feet. He was trying to avoid stepping on all the bones, but it was impossible, they were everywhere. The fingers on his wounded hand twitched with every step he took.

In the mist, he could see buildings, they looked something like old apartment complexes. A broken road followed the river into the distance. There was a fence surrounding the town's crop fields that was made of wood and bones, tied together with ropes and twine.

Boone wasn't the type to scare easily, but this place was eerie. Mist was coiling around the buildings like it was a living thing reaching out to grab him.

There were bodies in the mist... they disappeared as he tried to get a closer look.

 _There's no such thing as ghosts._ That was what he'd told Fay. And all she'd said to him was… _Are you sure?_

She was right, now he wasn't so sure... He could hear the river rushing along behind the quiet buildings. But with Fay's story stuck in his head, he felt like he could see the ghosts of the past here. He felt a pang in his heart as he thought of Carla. He imagined her ghost walking silently in the fog...

"Who's there?" came a rough voice.

Boone instinctively reached for his rifle, but he immediately knew that it wouldn't be good enough. He was surrounded. People stepped out of the fog, people armed with guns and blades and other homemade weapons. Blades seem to be the most common...

This was where Fay learned how to toss knives, Boone realized. From these people... she must have started at a young age.

A bald headed man stepped forward as Boone tried to look stern and purposeful. It wasn't hard.

"You ain't one of our usual traders," he said gruffly. "Who are you?"

"Corporal Boone," the ex-soldier said shortly. "I'm not here to hurt anyone, I just need to ask you a few questions."

"Soldier boy, eh?" the bald man said, eyeing Boone suspiciously. "Seen your type here before, and I'll tell you what we told them... we don't need ya."

"Not here about that," Boone said roughly. "I'm here about Fay Morgan."

The change in the atmosphere was instantaneous. For a second they'd been cautiously accepting of him... now he was a threat. People's hands began drifting to their weapons.

"Fay Morgan..." the bald headed man said slowly. "What would you know about her?"

"I need to know where she died, where the Fiends might have taken her."

Silence but for the rushing river.

"And just what do you think you're going to do about it, eh? She's dead, said so yourself," the man said angrily, brandishing a rusted knife. "Let the dead rest, boy."

Boone sighed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out Fay's coin. He absently tossed it in the air and caught it. He'd only brought out the coin to give himself some time to think, but a scream distracted him. He dropped the coin in surprise. People were shaking, stepping away from him.

"What the hell...?" Boone grumbled, scooping the coin out of the sand. "It's just some old money..."

"Where did you get that?" said an older woman with fluffy gray hair. "Throw it down, young man, wherever you found it... it's a curse."

"A curse?" Boone repeated incredulously.

"That object is the reason the Morgan girl died!" the woman said, almost hysterically now. "She went down to the river bank to retrieve it when those monsters took her... I warned her not to go."

Boone's blood felt like it was turning to ice. The coin, this coin... was the reason Fay had been tortured until she was all but dead? Why did she still have it? And why had she given it to him?

_We made the choices that brought us here._

"Perhaps it has made it's way back here for a reason..." the bald man said slowly. Then he gave Boone the once over, like he was estimating his worth. "Are you here to put the dead to rest? See, around these parts... the dead don't stay dead."

The sniper looked around. His own words played in his head yet again... had Fay asked him about it on purpose?

_There's no such thing as ghosts._

"Yeah... that's why I'm here," Boone said slowly. "Tell me what happened."

The old man shrugged.

"It's like she said... Fiends took the girl... killed her. We could hear her screams," he said carefully, like he was afraid of offending listening spirits. "They must have thrown her body in the river, because we saw her floating by, dead as a door nail... thing is, her body crawled out of the river."

He paused there, seemingly to suppress a shudder of fear.

"Horrible, it was... naked, covered in wounds, moaning... and white as the bones in the yard," he whispered reverently. "No one would go near it... seen enough unnatural things like that to know not to touch it."

Boone's hands clenched around his rifle so tightly it hurt. His partner, a little girl, had been suffering and in pain... and no one would help her.

"She never left, though..." the old lady murmured. "Haunted the river and the abandoned house, cried at the edge of the town... Five years ago, a young man from a trade caravan went to try and put her spirit to rest. He never returned."

"But maybe you'll fare better, hm?" the bald man said swiftly. "The little Morgan girl must have sent you here for a reason... perhaps you'll finally put an end to her suffering."

Boone bowed his head.

I'm not the kind of guy who ends suffering. I'm the kind of guy who causes it. But not this time... This time needs to be different.

"I'll check the house," Boone said decisively. He was definitely curious about the house... And Fay had said there was nothing bad in there. So then what was in there? "Where is it?"

The bald man pointed to a small structure outside of town. Boone could barely see it through the mist, but it made sense… his beautiful partner had been banished to the edge of town where no one would run into her.

Biting back his anger, he turned and squinted upstream at the river and broken road. "Take it the Fiends are that way?"

The townspeople nodded all at once like they'd been practicing together.

"They steal from us, but don't dare openly attack us. We can take care of ourselves," the man said firmly.

"Yeah, I get it," Boone growled. It was taking all his will power to hold back all the things he wanted to say about these fucked up people and their fucked up little town...

"Beware, young man," the old lady whispered, her eyes clouded over. "She will take your life, if she can... do not let her deceive you."

Boone laughed to himself, his voice strangely muffled in the mist. The only thing he could think to say was something Fay had told him months ago...

"I think you've got it all wrong," he murmured into the mist.

I had no life to take... how could she take it?

Without another word, Boone turned and walked away from those people and back into the mist.

/

Minutes later, Boone was rushing through the fog, ignoring the bones crunching under his feet. He didn't want to stay here long, either. The last thing he wanted to do was run into Carla's ghost, or maybe one of the ghosts of all the people he'd killed...

Snap out of it, Boone... There are no ghosts. This is just one creepy as fuck town.

The house he'd been pointed to was a little ways outside of town. Actually, it wasn't so much of a house as it was some sort of garage. But it had clearly been sitting untouched for quite a while. There were some bones scattered out here, too... Remnants of Fay's many kills, no doubt.

The garage door was jammed shut, so Boone went in through the side door. The rusted latch broke after a minute of struggling with it.

He'd expected the bones outside. He hadn't expected the bones inside.

Because right in the middle of the room, next to the dusty bed... there was an old, decaying body.

Shit...

His first thought was that Fay had wanted to cover up a murder, and that's why she didn't want him in here. But... no, the longer he looked, that just didn't feel right. Cold blooded murder wasn't what had gone down here...

Before he went to examine the body, Boone did a quick scan of the rest of the space. Aside from the bed with a body hanging off it, there was a book shelf with several books in various states of decay, a few pots, a chest with some clothes, some nasty looking crap that might have been food that had been rotting for five years, and a few other odds and ends.

Boone stepped closer to the body. It was mostly bones at this point, but a few withered scraps of flesh were still hanging onto the skeleton. The body was half hanging off the bed... and it didn't look like it had been moved there. This was where the man had died.

For it was surely a man... The dirty clothes on the body were a man's clothes. Boone nudged the skeleton with his toe. There was a blood stained blade lying beneath the corpse. So Fay had killed him... This guy had to be the man who had gone missing from the trade caravan five years ago.

Boone frowned. He was still missing something here. Something else was bothering him.

The bed... the bed man's body was hanging off of... it was a mess, like somebody had been surprised in their sleep. And the clothes on the body were wrong, too. The man's pants, they were around his ankles.

And then it clicked. Boone's hands clenched themselves into fists.

You miserable piece of shit... Boone snarled to himself. You didn't come here to help... you came here to rape Fay! Bet you thought no one in town would give a fuck if you raped the dead girl, and Fay wasn't about to tell on you... But she surprised you, didn't she? She fought back...

Five years ago... Fay said she'd met Will and his buddies five years ago. This attempted rape must have been the last straw for her, what finally caused her to pack up and go, flee from this place.

Fury overtaking his senses, Boone slammed his foot into the skeleton's rib cage, sending bones flying. He wished there was more he could do, but it was hard to inflict pain on a pile of bones.

Once he had had his fill of abusing the old skeleton, he sat down heavily on the only chair in the one room garage. The chair collapsed under his weight, but Boone was too angry and depressed to care.

Fay was right... I never should have come in here. All it did was piss me off, and I need to be able to think straight for killing those Fiends.

As he stared mournfully at the rotting wall, pondering how Fay had stayed sane all those years, his eyes alighted on something he never expected to see in this depressing house.

Pinned to the wall next to the door was a faded picture that looked as if it had been ripped out of one of these old books that were lying around... It was picture of a man and a woman, lavishly dressed. They were dancing together, holding each other close. They looked happy, like they were in love...

As if he were in a trance, Boone got up off the chair he'd wrecked and plucked the picture from the wall. The edges of it were brown and curling up... he felt as if it might dissolve in his hand.

She wants that, Boone realized. For a while he hadn't been sure of what she really wanted, but... this just confirmed it.

Boone looked around at the bed. He imagined her sleeping there as a girl, all alone every night. And she'd gotten used to it, but she'd never quite let go of the idea of love, of affection, of intimacy...

Maybe she thought she'd found it in Will, her friend... but then he disappeared and left her more alone than ever. She'd been lonely enough to invite a psychologically scarred ex-soldier to travel with her.

This is what you didn't want me to see, the ex-soldier thought sadly. You don't give a shit about this idiot, you've killed enough people, he doesn't matter to you at all... No, it was your heart you didn't want me to see. This is what you wanted to hide.

Boone carefully folded the picture, the picture containing a young girl's hopes and dreams, and tucked it inside his armor next to his heart. His fingers brushed against his letter to Carla, a letter containing his own hopes and fears...

Suddenly he wasn't sure he could carry both. It was hard enough carrying around his own pain. But just like when he'd threatened Caesar, he felt he had no choice. He'd have to be strong enough for both of them

Boone turned to leave, punting the dead man's skull across the room as he did so.

/

Once he'd left the house, Boone skirted the town and had followed the old road up by the river for more than a mile until it rounded a curve...

And there it was. Hidden in the mountain side on the other side of the river was an old warehouse of some kind. A causal passerby might assume the place was empty, but Boone knew better.

There was a chain link fence, covered with all the usual Fiend decorations... hooks, chains, dried blood, hacked up corpse parts... dead giveaways. The Fiends were still here, alright. Fay was lucky that she'd only been tossed in the river, and not strung up on a fence like those poor souls...

Boone knew all about Fiends in a general sense. He knew they were a sick, twisted tribe of people who lived more for drugs than anything else. He'd known Fiends to kill, rape, torture and worse... usually to get more drugs, but sometimes just for their idea of fun. They were definitely the type to kidnap and torture a young girl just for kicks.

His first instinct was to find a place to snipe from, but he was way too far away... And he couldn't just walk in the front door... he'd have to sneak in somehow. Although he had to cross the river first. Boone backtracked a little before finding what seemed like a good place to cross. He waded into the river, walking steadily through the current.

"Wait!" came a sweet female voice, echoing over the water. "Please!"

Fay was sprinting towards him, holding her bad arm to her chest as she ran.

Boone paused in the middle of the river. Those warm emotions in his chest seemed to have crystallized into something painful... Fay had to go back. She couldn't come with him.

"Go back, Fay!" he called.

Fay ignored him, sloshing into the water. But the current was stronger than she expected, and Boone saw her swaying and trying to fight it as she made her way over to him. He swept through the water, throwing his strong arms around her and pulling her upright against his chest.

He could feel her shaking and panting against him. She'd obviously run all the way here from her hiding place. And on top of that, she was absolutely terrified.

"Hey," he said, rubbing her back with one hand to calm her down. "Hey, it's alright. I'm here."

"You can't go. Please," she stammered against him, her tiny body trembling. "This is crazy. Let's go back to Novac. Please."

Boone almost laughed in relief... she was only out here because she cared about him, because she obviously couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to him.

"We're not going back now. You're still scared," he said simply. "You're afraid of these people... and you don't have to be, okay?"

Fay's hood had come down... her long, starlight hair was streaming down her back. She pressed her cheek to his chest.

"That doesn't matter," she whispered. "Just... just don't go. I can't lose you like I lost Will and the others. Let's go back."

Boone smiled sadly at her, still holding her steady against the current that was threatening to take both of them. Loss was definitely something they both understood. But it still didn't change what he had to do.

"Sorry, can't take that chance," he said firmly. "You're going West like you promised, and you're staying with me."

Fay looked up at him, her eyes widening. Mist swirled thickly around them, making Boone unconsciously tighten his grip on his partner, an irrational fear of losing her to the river rising in his mind. He couldn't lose her now...

"Staying... with you?" she repeated faintly, her golden eye sparkling. "But you... you want to...?"

Boone really did laugh quietly to himself then, squeezing his partner tight against his chest. She didn't struggle, didn't try to get away from him like she used to… Had she figured him out like Julie had warned him she would?

I do want to. I want that more than anything, Boone thought. I can't just leave you out there alone. I just can't do it. I still want the same thing I wanted when I married Carla. I've had enough of war, I've got enough blood on my hands.

He pushed her white hair out of her face, touching her porcelain cheek.

Maybe one day, you'll be able to love me back. Maybe one day, you'll let me make love to you. We might be suffering, but at least we don't have to be alone.

"I do," he said firmly, his hand still on her cheek. "If that's okay with you."

Fay simply stared at him, some unreadable emotion on her face. Would she run away now that he'd admitted that?

Worried that she was going to go down into the river, the ex-soldier hefted the small girl in his arms, cradling her against him.

"I know it's not what you're used to, but if you'd just give me a chance to show you..." he continued, still cradling her like a child. It just felt so good being near her, knowing that she saw everything he was and still cared about him.

And now, he saw her, too. He saw a young woman who was just as broken as he was.

Maybe separate, we'd fail... but together, we can make it.

"So are you going to show me… or what?" she whispered, a slight grin on her face. The sniper could see the honesty in her eyes. She still didn't understand love, but his heart soared at the knowledge that she wanted to try. And she'd try with him.

Craig Boone grinned back at her, leaning in to take something he'd wanted for weeks now... just one kiss. He saw no fear in her eyes, no worry, just trust. He pressed his mouth to her pale lips, his own lips moving in what was the most tender kiss he could manage.

After a moment, her sweet lips began moving curiously against his… Her kiss was the most amazing thing he'd felt in ages.

The chill of the water vanished, his fears disappeared. Heat flooded his body as his heart pounded against his ribs. He'd never felt more alive.

Because there was life in him now. Maybe Fay had lent him some of her own soul like he'd hoped she would, or maybe he'd found the spark of life in himself that he thought had been lost forever, but... there it was.

Sooner than he would have liked, the kiss ended.

Fay looked up at him bashfully, happy but confused.

Boone, figuring that they'd been standing in the river long enough, began walking them back towards the far shore.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" she murmured to him as he walked. "If you'd rather someone more... normal..."

She still doesn't get it... Boone thought. She thinks she's a freak. I may not be as eloquent as the Colonel, but I need to tell her somehow.

"You're everything I ever wanted," her mumbled into her hair. "Just say you'll stay with me. That's all I want."

I've been telling myself I care for you as partner, but it's not true. I see you as so much more than that. I can keep you happy and safe, I know I can. Please just give me a chance.

Fay cuddled up to him, wrapping her good arm around his neck, burying her face in his shirt. It was something she'd never done before, not in such an intimate way. Boone let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Of course I'll stay with you," she said softly. "Where else would I be?"

The man laughed, squeezing Fay gently, tangling his hand in her hair. He'd reached the far shore, and he set his girl gently on the sandy bank. Now that she knew how he was feeling, he felt better about touching her the way he'd only fantasized about...

He brushed her hair back from her face, letting his numb fingers trail down her white cheek. Looking in her bright eyes was easier, too. Fay shivered a little bit, but she still looked so happy.

Whatever this was, whatever it was going to be, they could make it. Their relationship might be strange and different, but it was theirs. He wasn't even sure if his partner could love him back, but he was going to give her everything he had.

There were no words for a while. There didn't need to be. As Boone held his partner carefully, attempting to avoid jostling her injured shoulder, he realized that his partner had loved him all along. Fay had been telling him for weeks now that she trusted him, believed in him, wanted to stay with him. He'd just been too blind to see it.

When she'd hugged him back in The Atomic Wrangler… that had been the start he should have seen. She'd cared about him, tried to help him in the only way she knew people accepted, even though it had been hard for her. All those little things she'd done might have been normal for other women, but certainly weren't for her.

It was just now he could appreciate them. He was grateful that he still had the chance to tell her that it made a difference for him.

"So..." Fay began, her head on his shoulder. "Let's keep going, okay? We can get far away from this place and never come back."

Boone squeezed her hand.

If I could end your suffering... could I be forgiven for all the other horrible things I've done? I've got to try. You're still the best thing I have going for me.

"No," Boone said firmly. He had to sound confident for her sake. "I told you, I can't take that chance. Those Fiends are as good as dead."

"And I'm supposed to take a chance by letting you go?" she asked, her thin fingers tightening on his wrist, like she thought she could stop him if she just held on tight enough.

"You're just going to have to trust me."

Fay sighed, though she still refused to loosen her grip on him.

"Trust is kind of a funny thing... I've never trusted anyone like I trust you, and in some ways I barely know you."

"It's alright," Boone assured her. "We know enough."

Assuming they got out of here alive, they'd have the rest of their lives to get to know each other, though Boone knew it would likely be a process. But it was a process he couldn't wait for, because each and every little thing he got from her was even more precious to him.

"I never imagined this happening to me, you know," she murmured. "I didn't think you'd stick around for more than a week that day I asked you to travel with me..."

Boone chuckled, using his free hand to gently untangle some of the knots in her starlight hair. The braid was starting to make a whole lot of sense.

"Guess you don't know me as well as you think you do."

"I guess not," Fay whispered as she watched him smoothing out her shining locks of hair. "You definitely surprised me. Well, you trusted me to have your back at Bitter Springs, so... I guess I'll just have to trust you now."

Boone tried to shift her tiny body so he could get up, but Fay refused to loosen her grip. She had some strong little fingers.

"You're still not letting me go," Boone pointed out. "Why'd you tell me to come here if you were going to change your mind?"

Fay thought about that, resting her head on his chest.

"I thought that if anybody could take down those Fiends... you could. I, well... you sounded like you had a reason to want to do this. And I believed it."

Boone exhaled slowly. That meant a lot, coming from her. When Carla died, the townspeople in Novac used to tell him he was cold, if they spoke to him at all... he supposed they were right. Even now, with the prospect of loving someone again right over the horizon, he couldn't shake the desire to kill. But at least Fay could appreciate it.

So he carefully loosened Fay's death grip on him and stood up. She immediately stood up too, fear in her eyes.

"I promised I'd do this for you," he said firmly. "If you're living with me... I don't want you to be scared of these sick fucks every day. Besides, they've had it coming to them for years."

"If they hurt you… they'll regret it," Fay said, her eyes wide as saucers. Boone laughed at the notion of his tiny partner coming to rescue his sorry ass. Not that he doubted her for a moment.

"Yeah, I know," he said. "But I promise, I'll be fine. I won't let anyone hurt you again, ever."

It must have been something in the way he said that, but he saw the suspicion immediately forming in Fay's mismatched eyes.

"You went in my old house."

Well, guess there was no point denying it… Besides, she'd already assumed that he would.

"I did," Boone said carefully. Slowly, he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the picture he'd taken from Fay's house. He unfolded it and showed it to her. "Sorry... you kind of gave yourself away."

Fay took the picture from him with trembling fingers.

"Yes... I suppose I did," she said, though she seemed to be talking more to the people in the picture.

Then she looked up at him with her blue and gold eyes, like she was waiting for him to judge her. But Boone didn't have slightest desire to judge her for wanting a little bit of affection. In fact, he was only hoping she wouldn't judge him too harshly...

"So... here," he said slowly, handing over a slightly damp folded letter. "It's only fair."

His partner, a slightly baffled look on her face, unfolded the letter and read it. Moments later, diamond tears dripped down her cheeks. She folded the letter back up and made to tuck it back in his pocket for him, but Boone stopped her.

"Hold on to it for me, would you?" Boone said gently. He replaced his letter with Fay's picture. "It's easier to carry this way."

Fay's lower lip trembled in the most adorable way.

"I... Oh, Craig, of course I will," she whispered, using her good arm to place the letter inside her armor.

Boone grinned and swiftly kissed her once more.

"Thanks. So I need you to do one more thing for me... Stay put this time, alright?"

Her lip quivered again. She wasn't making it easy to leave.

"I'm afraid you won't come back," she whispered.

Boone held out his arms, and Fay immediately stepped into them. That was the best gift she could have given him… her trust, her unconditional love. He knew that even if he failed in his goal to kill each and every Fiend, Fay would still love him in her own unique way.

"I'll come back," he said firmly. "But these assholes hurt you… and I can't just let that go."

Fay sighed, her body relaxing into him.

"I knew you'd say that… and I know I can't stop you."

"You go," Boone said gently, gesturing to the West. "Go around this place… wait for me. I'll find you when I'm done."

"I'm not leaving here without you," Fay said stubbornly.

Boone chuckled, brushing at her hair.

"Then wait here. Please. For me," he added, hoping to impress upon her that he didn't want to lose her, either.

Maybe she understood, because she stepped away from him and sat down on a stone, though she didn't look happy about it. She pulled her hood back up, covering her hair and eyes.

"I'll be back, alright?" he said gently.

"I believe you."

Boone figured he couldn't put it off any more… he had to go. The longer they sat here, the more they made themselves a target. He headed for the river bank. He paused there, looking back at his partner.

"One more thing," he added.

Fay raised a pale eyebrow at him.

"Yes?"

"Why'd you really turn down the Colonel's proposal?"

Her mouth twitched into a smile.

"I think you know. After all… you just had to interrupt it, didn't you?" she said slyly. But she didn't sound very upset.

You didn't love him, Boone thought, his heart racing. You had feelings for me and didn't know how to tell me, didn't have any idea how to act on it...

Just the thought warmed his soul against the chill of the water, much like Fay's kiss had. He felt like he could do anything… even earn forgiveness for his past.


End file.
